MINSK, June 8 (Xinhua) -- China stands ready to work with Belarus to further docking their respective development strategies, and continue to explore cooperation potential in new areas, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng has said.
He made the remarks during a visit to Belarus from Saturday to Monday at the invitation of the Belarusian government.
During his stay in Minsk, he met separately with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Prime Minister Alexander Turchin and First Deputy Prime Minister Nikolai Snopkov.
During his meeting with Lukashenko, Han conveyed Chinese President Xi Jinping's warm greetings and said that under the strategic guidance of Xi and Lukashenko, China-Belarus relations have developed rapidly, reaching a high level of an all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership.
Han said China is willing to work with Belarus to follow the direction set by the heads-of-state diplomacy, promote the fine tradition of mutual support, open up new space for win-win development, consolidate the foundation of public support for friendship between the two countries, and promote the continuous deepening and solidification of China-Belarus relations and cooperation.
Lukashenko asked Han to convey his cordial greetings to Xi. He said Belarus is China's all-weather comprehensive strategic partner and a reliable good friend, adding that bilateral relations have flourished since the establishment of diplomatic ties between Belarus and China over 30 years ago.
Belarus attaches great importance to its relations with China as always and looks forward to closer high-level exchanges with China, strengthening mutual political trust, deepening practical cooperation, inheriting people-to-people friendship and promoting bilateral relations, Lukashenko said.
In his meeting with Turchin, Han said that China-Belarus friendship is long-standing and enduring. China is committed to developing relations and deepening cooperation with Belarus and will continue to support Belarus in safeguarding its sovereignty, security and development interests, he said.
China and Belarus should take high-quality Belt and Road cooperation as a guide and continuously create new highlights of cooperation, Han said. China would like to take joint efforts with the Belarusian side to safeguard the common interests of the Global South and inject stability into an uncertain world, he added.
Turchin said China is a key strategic partner for Belarus and the two countries' relationship is a model of unity and cooperation among developing countries. Belarus highly appreciates China's constructive role in safeguarding international fairness and justice and firmly supports China in safeguarding its core interests, he said.
Belarus is willing to align its development strategy with China, deepen practical cooperation in various fields and enhance coordination on international affairs, further enriching the connotation of the all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership between Belarus and China, Turchin said.
When meeting with Snopkov, Han said that China and Belarus are good friends of mutual trust and good partners of sincere cooperation. The economies of the two countries are highly complementary as there is broad space for cooperation, he said.
Noting that this year marks the start of China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) while Belarus is also advancing toward its 2026-2030 economic and social development goals, Han said China stands ready to strengthen alignment of development strategies with Belarus, create new space for win-win development at a higher level and with greater resilience and sustainability, and bring more benefits to the two peoples.
Snopkov said that China and Belarus share similar development concepts and strategic goals. Belarus believes that the Chinese modernization will significantly promote global peace, development and shared prosperity, he added.
Belarus is ready to work with China to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, fully utilize existing bilateral cooperation mechanisms, enhance people-to-people exchanges, expand practical cooperation in industrial fields, promote major projects such as the China-Belarus Industrial Park, and attract more Chinese enterprises to invest in Belarus, Snopkov said.
During his visit, Han and Snopkov attended the opening ceremony of a China-Belarus industrial and investment cooperation forum and a special Belarusian event "Big market for all: Export to China".
In his speech, Han said China is ready to continue working with Belarus based on sincerity and trust, strengthen the alignment of their development strategies, explore potential for trade growth and expand industrial and investment cooperation.
China will remain committed to high-quality development and high-level opening up, creating a broader market and development opportunities for countries around the world, including Belarus, he said.
Nearly 1,000 representatives from the governments and business sectors of both countries participated in the events, engaging in business negotiations and signing multiple agreements of intent for cooperation.
Han has also laid a wreath at the Victory Monument and visited a Belarusian agricultural exhibition. ■
