Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (right) and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping pose for a photo with WW II veteran Peter Sapogov, 89, on Monday during an award ceremony for veterans at the WW II museum in Minsk. Photo: AFP

China and Belarus signed deals worth billions of dollars during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the country, a key step as China looks to bridge Europe and Asia through a series of trade and investment links.

China's central bank on Monday said it had signed a currency swap agreement, valued at 7 billion yuan ($1.15 billion), with the Belarus central bank.

The three-year agreement can be further extended subject to agreement from both sides, the Chinese central bank said in a statement on its website.

The deal aims to facilitate trade and investment as well as boost economic development on both sides, the statement said.

China has extended $3 billion in credit to Belarusian companies and $4 billion in commercial credit to Belarusian banks to finance business projects, Economy Minister Vladimir Zinovsky was quoted as saying by Belarus news agency BelTA on Monday.

Xi and his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, pledged on Sunday to combine development strategies and boost the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two nations. Xi, the first Chinese president to visit the country in 14 years, kicked off his three-day visit to the country on Sunday.

"I hope the two sides will take the opportunity of our meeting to turn the high-level political relationship into more substantial and practical outcomes, and work together to open up a new era for the China-Belarus comprehensive strategic partnership," Xi said as he participated in talks with Lukashenko on Sunday local time.

In addition, 25 agreements were signed at the Belarusian-Chinese interregional business forum in Minsk on Monday, involving cooperation with Chinese provincial governments, including in Gansu, Guangdong and Hubei provinces, according to BelTA.

Li Xing, professor of Russian and Asian affairs from the School of Government at Beijing Normal University, told the Global Times that Xi's successful visit demonstrates that Belarus plays an important role for Xi to promote the "One Belt One Road" initiative.

"Belarus is a transport hub for European and Asian countries. If China hopes to set up an economic corridor to the Baltic Sea, cooperation with Belarus is necessary," Li said. He added that the role of Belarus is even more important now as a result of continuing unrest in its neighbor Ukraine. 

Zhao Huirong, a research fellow of Central Asian studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that the two countries have a good foundation to enhance economic cooperation, as Belarus has an advanced manufacturing industry.

China can also shift some of its excess capacity products or manufacturing in Belarus and boost local infrastructure construction, Zhao noted.

China is the fifth-biggest trading partner of Belarus, and the largest in Asia.

There are 23 major China-funded projects in the country, Bloomberg reported.

Xi suggested the two sides should combine their development strategies and work together to build the Silk Road Economic Belt, emphasizing the significance of the China-Belarus Industrial Park.

China intends to make the industrial park a "pearl" on the Belt, or an exemplary project of reciprocal cooperation between the two countries, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Xi also mentioned that cooperation on trade, housing for low-income families, infrastructure construction, electricity, industrial modernization and financing will proceed on a win-win basis.

Belarus is the last leg of Xi's visit, after his trip to Kazakhstan and Russia.

Li noted that Xi's visit also boosts the connection between the "One Belt, One Road" initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union (EUU), which was signed on May 29 2014 by the leaders of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia.

In a recent interview with Xinhua prior to Xi's visit, Lukashenko stressed that his country's pursuit of better China-Belarus relations is sincere, and that it takes "pride in having a friend like China."

Belarus stands ready to act as a valuable platform for bolstering China's "Belt and Road" initiatives and takes the opportunity to facilitate its economic reform, he said.

"If the cooperation between China and Belarus, especially the China-Belarus Industrial Park, can be successful, it can be a showcase for other EUU countries to boost their confidence toward the initiative," Li said.

For Belarus, the cooperation with China can give the country more opportunities to diversify its export markets and its economic relations, Zhao said.

Belarus' economy is heavily reliant on Russia, whose economic growth has been slowed down by Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis.

Agencies contributed to this story