Meeting with Chairman of CITIC Group Corporation and CITIC Corporation Limited Zhu Hexin

Cooperation between Belarus and China is not just about trade, but about establishment of high-tech companies and corporations, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he met with Chairman of CITIC Group Corporation and CITIC Corporation Limited Zhu Hexin in Beijing.

Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized that Belarus is proud of its cooperation with CITIC Group Corporation, which is one of the world’s most powerful companies. “We really hope that this visit and negotiations with the country’s top officials, including my good friend Xi Jinping, will give a powerful impetus to our cooperation. We also hope that we will not encounter any problems while developing new projects, especially projects to build facilities of your company and Belarusian facilities on the territory of Belarus,” the head of state said.

He noted that the total investments in construction projects involving CITIC Group Corporation in Belarus are estimated at $1.5 billion at the moment.

Aleksandr Lukashenko suggested that the corporation focus on several areas of work in Belarus. The first one is the construction of a mining and processing plant. “The Belarusian side fulfilled everything that you said, that you asked for and demanded,” the head of state said.

The second avenue of work deals with the Belarusian National Biotechnology Corporation (BNBC). The first stages of the project -  BNBC 1 and BNBC 2 - were successfully implemented with the participation of Chinese partners. “We would like to continue building the biotechnology cluster, the corporation in Belarus and to launch a third stage that envisages deep processing of corn and production of vitamins and other products. We really count on that. Xi Jinping had nothing against this project. Indeed, these are landmark projects,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

He went on saying that apart from BNBC, Belarus and China are implementing a number of other important projects such as production of Geely cars and others. “These are pivotal projects for the whole world, for Europe. We want to show through these projects that cooperation between Belarus and China is not just about trade and the exchange of goods, but about the creation of top-notch companies and corporations,” the Belarusian leader said.

The President noted that there are several other projects that deal with production and processing of agricultural products that can be later supplied to the Chinese market. “These projects have not met any resistance or questioning. On the contrary, as with previous projects, you will receive substantial support from the Belarusian authorities,” the Belarusian leader assured.

In turn, Zhu Hexin welcomed the successful implementation of projects in Belarus and expressed gratitude for the support and attention. He assured that the corporation would absolutely honor the agreements reached at the highest level.