Meeting with Vice Premier of State Council of China Liu Guozhong

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko met with Vice Premier of the State Council of China Liu Guozhong in Minsk on 22 May.

“We welcome you in Belarus. We see you not only as a high-ranking official, but first of all as an envoy of the friendly Chinese people, the great Chinese state. You are responsible for Belarus-China relations along with our Deputy Prime Minister Snopkov. I want to give you a lot of credit for significant progress in our relations in specific areas. We meet with [representatives of] many countries and sign memorandums and agreements of intent. And when it comes to you, we have been implementing specific contracts for a long time. And you and your colleagues deserve a lot of credit for this,” the Belarusian leader noted.

Along with this, Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized the enormous personal contribution of Xi Jinping to the development of bilateral relations: “Everything I have said does not in any way diminish the role of the President of the PRC, my great old friend Xi Jinping. Had he not taken over the leadership of the party and the state, then, probably, these achievements would not have been possible and, perhaps, we would not have met today.”

Liu Guozhong arrived in Belarus the day before. He is also the co-chairman of the Belarus-China intergovernmental cooperation committee. 

"We live in rather challenging and contradictory times. We often reflect on who our friends are, who has ceased to be a friend, and who stands on the other side of the barricades. But you should know (and I am confident that you do) that Belarus is a reliable friend of China and the Chinese people. Not only because these are challenging times, particularly for our economy, but because we have been building open and friendly relations for decades. Rest assured that here, in the heart of Europe, you have reliable friends who are strongly committed to promoting bilateral cooperation and can also assist the People's Republic of China with achieving the major goals as it is implementing the Belt and Road Initiative across various domains. We have never let you down and never will," the head of state said.

Speaking about the cooperation, Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed that there are always certain challenges on this all-weather path, but in relations with China there are very few difficulties. "Fortunately, we have almost no problems. There is always a desire to move forward. I am confident that the contracts we would like to carry out with China will be implemented. We aim for very serious strategic relations with you, as outlined in our agreements," the President emphasized.