China and Belarus Photo: VCG

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Friday concluded his visit to Belarus, during which Beijing and Minsk pledged to further promote practical cooperation in various fields ranging from trade, finance, security and agriculture to science and technology, and education, according to a joint communique released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday.

Analysts said Premier Li's visit to Belarus demonstrates a high-level political mutual trust and the momentum of close cooperation between the two countries. The expanding China-Belarus cooperation will also inject impetus into the steady development of bilateral relations and also play an exemplary role in the region.

Li arrived in Minsk on Thursday after co-chairing the 29th regular meeting between the Chinese and Russian heads of government in Moscow and a visit to Russia.

During a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday local time, Premier Li said that China stands ready to work with the Belarusian side to push for the high-level development of their all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership to better benefit the two peoples. 

Li said that China-Belarus relations, regardless of how the international situation changes, have always shown vigor and vitality since the establishment of diplomatic ties 32 years ago. 

Noting that China will continue to firmly support Belarus in pursuing a development path suited to its national conditions, Li said that China stands ready to further synergize development strategies with Belarus, solidly advance cooperation in various fields, steadily expand trade scale.

Lukashenko hailed that Belarus-China relations are enjoying a strong momentum of development and are at an all-time high. He said that Belarus stands ready to maintain close high-level exchanges with China, and to deepen practical cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, agriculture, science and technology.

In meeting with Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko, Li said China stands ready to work with Belarus to firmly support each other in defending core interests and remain each other's true friend and good partner.

In the joint communique, the two sides also expressed that they will firmly oppose external forces' interference in other countries' internal affairs under any pretext.

The communique said that Belarus reiterates its firm commitment to the one-China principle, firmly opposes any form of "Taiwan independence"  and firmly supports the Chinese government in achieving national reunification. 

On regional hotspot issues, the two sides expressed support for peaceful resolution of conflicts and constructive bilateral dialogue between countries.

Yang Jin, an associate research fellow with the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that Premier Li's visit to Minsk highlights a high-level political mutual trust and the momentum of close cooperation between China and Belarus, which will continue in the future. 

Premier Li's visit is also part of frequent political interactions between the two countries in recent years. President Lukashenko visited China twice in 2023. He also met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, in July 2024.

Zhao Huirong, an Eastern European studies expert from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that exchanges at the government level will effectively implement the strategic plans of the two heads of state, consolidate political trust and provide new impetus for the steady development of bilateral relations.

"China-Belarus relations are a role model of a new type of international relations," Zhao said, "The two countries uphold mutual respect, mutual benefit, and share the same views on the international order and affairs, which is why they have achieved fruitful results in both bilateral and multilateral cooperation."

Expanding scope 

In terms of practical cooperation, the China-Belarus joint communique said the two countries will enhance cooperation in industrial supply chains, and cooperation in service trade and e-commerce. 

The communique said the two sides will jointly promote the high-quality development of the China-Belarus Industrial Park, and agreed to strengthen cooperation on China-Europe freight trains by promoting infrastructure connectivity, and jointly ensuring the safety of the China-Europe freight train transport corridor.

The two sides have also expressed willingness to strengthen cooperation in agriculture and welcome each other's high-quality agricultural products to enter their markets. 

In addition to the traditional cooperative sectors, the communiques said the two countries will carry out mutually beneficial cooperation in the fields of information and communication technology.

The two sides said they will deepen cooperation in biomedicine, culture and tourism, sports, news and communication.

The communique said that the two sides will support practical cooperation between scientific research institutions, universities and enterprises, and encourage the establishment of joint laboratories, joint applied research centers, joint ventures, high-tech parks and other scientific research institutions.

The document said the two countries will expand interbank credit and financial cooperation and expand channels for bilateral financial cooperation. The two sides hope to increase the proportion of local currency used in bilateral trade, investment, credit and other economic transactions and establish an effective local currency settlement system.

According to Yang, the communiques demonstrate three characteristics of China-Belarus cooperation: "rich in content, pragmatic, and high in quality."

China-Belarus cooperation also reflects the concrete measures taken by China to implement the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which includes further expanding high-standard opening-up and expanding high-quality international cooperation. 

"Belarus appreciates the development experience of Chinese modernization and hopes to learn from China's experience in governance," Zhao said, adding that cooperation with China in various fields can also help Belarus effectively maintain national stability and economic development.

On Thursday, the two countries also inked an agreement on trade in services and investments, which will further tap the potential of trade in services and investment cooperation and promote the high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Cui Hongjian, a professor from the Academy of Regional and Global Governance with Beijing Foreign Studies University said that China-Belarus cooperation will play an exemplary role in the region, as Belarus is not only an important partner but also a crucial hub for BRI and China-Europe freight trains.

Through some institutionalized, long-term frameworks, the two sides can further activate the potential for sustainable development in the areas of trade in services and also some emerging industries such as new energy and digital economy, Cui said. 

According to data from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, China is the second-largest trading partner of Belarus and its largest trading partner in Asia, with bilateral trade exceeding $8.4 billion in 2023.