Aleksandr Lukashenko meets with representatives of Chinese business circles

Belarus and China need to make a bigger focus on direct investments, President of the Republic of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he met with a delegation of Chinese businessmen led by Chairman of China National Machinery Industry Corporation Sinomach Ren Hongbin on 20 June.

Welcoming the Chinese businessmen, Aleksandr Lukashenko expressed confidence that their business talent and ideas will be effectively used in Belarus. “Today’s visit is an integral part of our trustful and friendly agreements with President Xi Jinping of the People's Republic of China and China’s Premier,” the President said.

He reminded that in July 2013 the leaders of Belarus and China signed a joint declaration to formalize the major cooperation principle of the two countries, which is all-round strategic partnership. The declaration points to Belarus and China’s determination to advance the bilateral cooperation to a brand-new level with a focus on investments in modern high-tech projects.

“We have successfully advanced from trade to lending and investment projects in various sectors, including power engineering, woodworking, construction, transport and space. However, we need to expand cooperation in the form of direct investments,” the head of state said.

The President pointed out the importance of placing the first stone as part of the construction of the Chinese-BelarusianIndustrial Park on 19 June. “We should implement it as soon as possible,” Aleksandr Lukashenko remarked.

He thanked the Chinese government, Sinomach, and CAMCE corporation for assistance with implementing the project. Huawei, one of the leaders in the sphere of high technologies and telecommunications, is the first resident company. The company will place an R&D center in the park. Apart from R&D efforts the center will also make ready-made products. “The approach in full measure corresponds to our strategic goal of placing state-of-the-art technologies here,” the head of state noted.

The President expressed confidence that more Chinese companies will soon follow in Huawei’s steps, primarily those, whose top executives were present at the meeting. The park is expected to prioritize the development of fine chemistry, electronics, biotechnologies, mechanical engineering, and new materials.

The head of state remarked that today Belarus has a more ambitious task — informatization of the country on a large scale. It is one of the priorities of Belarus’ development. “A short while ago I made a number of relevant decisions,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. He said he was confident that informatization projects will be able to occupy their place in the park, too.

According to the President, the presence of representatives of the companies, which are world leaders in this sphere, will help to drastically step up work in this direction in the next few years. Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized that Belarus has enabled the most favorable conditions for residents of the park in the form of unprecedented tax preferences.

The head of state expressed hope that mutually beneficial projects will begin in Belarus in the near future with further assistance of the Chinese government and active involvement of major business of China.