Foreign and Military Affairs

Chinese VP's visit to deepen ties with Belarus

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-03-23 09:22

MOSCOW - Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to Minsk will inject new impetus into the friendly and cooperative relations between China and Belarus.

Since the diplomatic ties between China and Belarus were established 18 years ago, the two sides have maintained close contact, paying due attention to each other's core interests and supporting each other on major international issues.

Xi's trip to Minsk will bring fresh momentum to the development of the two countries' relations, Anatoly Tozik, Belarussian Ambassador to China, told reporters ahead of Xi's visit.

Xi will meet President Alexander Lukashenko as well as other Belarussian government and parliament leaders. They will exchange opinions over political cooperation, trade, economy and mutually-beneficial investment to tackle the global economic downturn, Tozik said.

Seeking to promote bilateral cooperation, the two countries will also sign a series of documents, said the ambassador.

In December 2005, Lukashenko visited China at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao. During that visit, the two leaders issued a joint statement, pledging to promote the China-Belarus relations and enhance cooperation in various areas.

The joint statement, Tozik said, made it clear that bilateral relations had entered a phase of all-round development and strategic cooperation.

Tozik said Belarus believed China would always be a true friend and a partner, adding that bilateral cooperation would benefit the people of both countries.

Trade and economic relations have also benefited from a sound political bilateral relationship.

At present, China is Belarus' biggest trading partner in Asia. Bilateral trade has surged 12-fold since 1992, with the trade volume standing at 810 million U.S. dollars in 2009, according to the Chinese Commerce Ministry.

China's Deputy Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng called on the Chinese and Belarus governments on the eve of Xi's visit to enhance cooperation in fields such as energy, telecommunications and infrastructure, and to support local banks in providing better financial services for companies of both sides.

Bilateral cooperation in science, education and culture has also been fruitful.

About 2,000 Chinese students are now studying in Belarus. Many Belarussian universities and high schools have begun to offer Chinese language courses, said Tozik.

Xi's late-March Belarus visit is the second leg of his four-nation Europe tour, which also includes Russia, Finland and Sweden.