Meeting with Minister of National Defense of China Li Shangfu

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko met with Chinese State Councilor, member of the CPC Central Military Commission and Minister of National Defense Colonel General Li Shangfu in Minsk on 17 August.

At the start of the meeting the head of state warmly welcomed Li Shangfu to Belarus, calling him the world’s most media person. “I have a reason to start our conversation with calling you the world’s most media person today. Your work and the efforts of the People's Republic of China to promote its interests, the main ideas on the world order are heard by the entire world today. China and Belarus share the same main ideas of the current and future prospective world order. We, together, have been demonstrating this for the past three decades,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

“We are absolute supporters of a multipolar world, territorial integrity and unity of the borders and territories formed after World War II. We stay committed to non-interference in the internal affairs of states. In short, the whole palette on which China's foreign policy is based is similar to ours. You should know that for more than 30 years we have always supported China in all its aspirations, because we consider the domestic and foreign policy of the People's Republic of China absolutely fair, aimed at peaceful resolution of any disputes and conflicts,” the Belarusian leader emphasized.

"Unfortunately, the world is absolutely unstable today, through no fault of ours. Very powerful turbulent developments are happening in the world. We must be strong. Strength is always respected. In our policy we rely on a strong economy and strong diplomacy. I am very grateful to you for your support in military-technical and military cooperation. In this regard, we rely on our friends, first of all, the Russian Federation and China," Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

He noted that this visit is the first one for Li Shanfu to Belarus. "I hope it won't be the last. It is very important for Belarus," the President said.

"All our cooperation, which is very significant (we did not hide it from anyone), is by no means directed against third countries. We don't need that. We need to protect our states and our peoples," the Belarusian leader stressed.

Aleksandr Lukashenko added that he had good and friendly relations with Chinese President Xi Jinping: “I have deep respect for my friend. We have known each other for a long time. Please convey my warmest and best wishes to him and his family for all that China has done for Belarus recently.”

He also asked to convey good wishes to Chinese leader’s wife Peng Liyuan.

In turn, Li Shangfu conveyed the best wishes and warm greetings to Aleksandr Lukashenko on behalf of the President of the People's Republic of China. He praised Belarus’ great successes in its development and the role of the Belarusian head of state in this. “Let me express my sincere and deep respect for your high contribution to peace and development in the world,” the Chinese defense minister said.

He recalled the Belarusian leader’s state visit to China earlier this year, during which the heads of state reached important agreements to further strengthen bilateral military cooperation, including in the military sector. “The purpose of my visit to Belarus is the implementation of important agreements at the level of heads of state and further strengthening of bilateral military cooperation,” Li Shangfu said.