Business Mood

BELTA

29 years ago, at the beginning of 1992, diplomatic relations between our countries were established. Since then, much has changed, but the vector of fruitful cooperation between Minsk and Beijing remains unchanged. China is a strategic partner of Belarus. Mutually beneficial cooperation is developing in many areas, a number of important projects are being implemented. On August 31, 2015, a key Presidential Directive No. 5 “On the development of bilateral relations between the Republic of Belarus and the People’s Republic of China” was signed. What makes the cooperation between countries special?

Sincere friendship

The past year was filled with events that strengthened bilateral relations and brought them to a higher level. “Despite the coronavirus pandemic and the slowdown in business activity in the world, cooperation between the Republic of Belarus and the People’s Republic of China is developing comprehensively and dynamically, Belarusian-Chinese political, economic and humanitarian contacts are actively maintained,” — the embassy said.

“Being reliable strategic partners, Belarus and China actively support each other on various issues in the international arena,” — the embassy noted. “The true testimony of sincere friendship and mutual assistance was granting humanitarian aid to each other in the difficult times of combating COVID-19. Belarus came to China’s aid on January 30 and February 6 of the last year (in fact, the first in the world), sending two planes with humanitarian aid for combating the spread of the coronavirus. And in April, May, December 2020, medicines were delivered from China to Belarus, including assistance from the government, 21 regions and many businesses of China,” — the embassy said.

It is noteworthy that the first person to congratulate Alexander Lukashenko on his victory in the presidential election was Xi Jinping, the President of the People’s Republic of China. According to him, Belarus and China are “iron brothers and all-weather partners”. “I attach great importance to the development of the ChineseBelarusian relations and appreciate the good working relationship and personal

friendship with you,” — the message of the Chinese president says.

Access platform

Last month Belarus and China created a platform for testing access to the Chinese market. According to the press service of the government, First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Nikolai Snopkov commented on the results of a video conference held in mid-December at a meeting of the Belarusian-Chinese intergovernmental commission on cooperation. According to the First Deputy Prime Minister, the decisions made during the meeting are of a deep strategic nature, which reveals the potential of bilateral cooperation. “The creation of the Commission on customs and quarantine cooperation within the intergovernmental commission is an exclusive option. This is a practical platform for working out all the issues of access to the Chinese markets, veterinary medicine, quarantine supervision and supply chains,” — said Nikolai Snopkov.

The chairperson of the Chinese part of the Intergovernmental Cooperation Committee Guo Shengkun confirmed the priority and unchallenged quality of the implementation in Belarus of two sports facilities, i.e. a national football stadium and an international swimming pool, thanks to the technical and economic assistance from China. “The parties also discussed the need to increase the balance of Chinese credit lines in the amount of about $4 billion for specific projects on the development of social and transport infrastructure in order to constantly improve the living standards of the Belarusian population,” — the government said in a statement.

Growth driver

Belarus considers agricultural supplies to China as a new export driver, Nikolai Snopkov said at the meeting of the intergovernmental commission. “In trade cooperation with China, I would like to note a positive trend associated with a change in the Belarusian exports structure: the range of products is expanding, dependence on the export of potash fertilizers is decreasing. The volume of supplies of Belarusian agricultural products to China is gradually growing,” — Nikolai Snopkov said. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the volume of supplies to China in January-November of the last year amounted to $238.7 million.

As for the development of trade and economic cooperation for the near future, the First Deputy Prime Minister outlined a number of priorities, including the active promotion of Belarusian exports to China, expansion of admission of new categories of Belarusian beef to the Chinese market, acceleration of the Belarusian dry baby food accreditation, increase in the sugar supply quota to China.

The key points are the use of electronic trading platforms as a promising mechanism for bilateral trade, the inclusion of Belarusian products in the state reserve of China, the creation of joint ventures in China for the Belarusian raw materials processing, simplification of trade procedures and elimination of trade barriers, and optimization of financial settlement mechanisms.

Record turnover

“China continues to maintain the status of the third largest trade partner of Belarus. According to our statistics, trade between China and Belarus in 2019 reached a record level, having increased by 58%. Despite the impact of the pandemic and other negative global factors, from January to the end of November 2020, the volume of bilateral trade increased by 9.2 percent. The annual trade turnover will become a new historical record,” — said Zhao Qiuyan, Counselor for Trade and Economic Affairs of the Chinese embassy in Belarus.

According to her, trade in agricultural products between China and Belarus has become a new feature of bilateral trade in new conditions. From January to the end of November 2020, the volume of trade in agricultural products between the two countries increased by 61.6% compared to the same period in 2019. At the same time, Belarusian exports increased by 83.2%, while imports from China decreased by 12.6%.

Zhao Qiuyan noted that the China International Import Exhibition is gradually becoming an important platform for the increase of the Belarusian products importance in the Chinese market. So, last November, Belarusian companies engaged in food industry and trade in services signed agreements on the purchase of goods and services for more than $31 million.

“Cooperation in the investment sphere between the two countries has also produced good results. According to Chinese statistics, from January to November 2020, the volume of direct investments of Chinese companies in the Belarusian economy increased by 40% compared to the same period last year,” — said the Counselor for Trade and Economic Affairs.

Model project

One of the most important joint projects is the Great Stone Sino-Belarusian Industrial Park, which the President of China called a model project. According to Dmitry Krutoi, the Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration, despite the difficult

situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the park was very successful last year. “Against the background of other economic sectors, the results are quite high: $75 million in exports, $300 million in investments, almost a thousand jobs have been created with the average salary of 2.5 thousand rubles” — said Dmitry Krutoi.

“Of 68 registered residents of the park today, 12 belong to the field of science, innovation, new, absolutely unique developments. This makes up almost 20%. If this proportion was observed in the investment structure of our economy, I think we would have a completely different return and a different quality of the investment process in the republic. The park was created for the implementation of projects mainly of the fifth and sixth deposits, the latest developments and innovations, and it carries out its mission,” — said Dmitry Krutoi.

From automobiles to biotechnologies

CJSC Belgee, a company created by the Chinese company Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, Belarusian BelAZ and other partners, will fill the gap in the production of motor cars in Belarus. “The project is developing well, in total last year Belgee sold 23 thousand cars, 9.2 thousand of them in Belarus and about 15 thousand in other countries,” — said Zhao Qiuyan.

She also drew attention to the fact that the Chinese corporation Midea Group and the Belarusian company “Horizont” have created a joint venture for the assembly of household appliances in the free economic zone of the Belarusian capital. The sales network of their products covers the Eurasian Economic Union and the CIS countries, some products are also sold in Europe. Last year the sales of the company reached of $21 million.

Construction work on the project “Organization of high-tech full-cycle agro-industrial production”, the investor and general

contractor of which is a Chinese company, is well underway. “After the completion, it will become the first amino acid production plant in Belarus. This is an important strategic project in the field of biotechnology in Belarus, which is expected to be completed in the first half of this year,” — said the Counselor of the Chinese embassy. Zhao Qiuyan also said that China and Belarus intend to exchange notes between the governments in the near future to sign the third stage of municipal housing construction project in Belarus with the help of China. “Construction will begin in the first half of this year. Within two years, 20 houses with 1,166 apartments will be built in six regions of Belarus,” — she explained. At the first two stages of the project, 38 houses with 3,286 apartments were built in six regions and Minsk, which improved the living conditions of more than 10,000 people.

BELTA Zakhar Burak

Verbatim

Earlier, Alexander Lukashenko, the President of Belarus had a telephone conversation with Xi Jinping, the President of the People’s Republic of China.

The heads of state exchanged congratulations on the anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Belarus and China (the conversation took place by this sign), and also discussed in detail various areas of cooperation, said the press service of the Belarusian leader.

Alexander Lukashenko thanked the President of the People’s Republic of China for supporting Belarus in the international arena. As the Chinese leader noted in this context, only the people can decide and determine the future of their country. In general, the strategic partners Belarus and China will jointly confront external threats. Belarus will also continue to support China on all key issues.

Much attention in the conversation was paid to the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic. The parties exchanged information on the measures taken to stop the spread of the infection. According to the Chinese leader, there is no reason to calm down yet. China has confirmed its readiness to supply the required amount of COVID-19 vaccine to Belarus.

The President of Belarus and the President of the People’s Republic of China noted the growth of bilateral trade as a positive fact. They noted with satisfaction that economic slowdown was averted even in the difficult conditions of the pandemic and the decline in business activity. The supplies of Belarusian agricultural products to the Chinese market served as an example. In general, the main growth points are food products and timber-ware. An application for Belarusian export, which includes 88 items of agricultural, mechanical engineering and chemical industry products, has been successfully completed. The leaders also discussed an increase in purchases of potash fertilizers in China. The Chinese partners responded to the request of the Belarusian side with their readiness to work on this issue.

The focus was also on further development and implementation of the potential of the Great Stone Industrial Park, which is a key element of Belarus’ participation in the Belt and Road Initiative. Alexander Lukashenko assured that Belarus will traditionally be an active participant of the initiative.

In order to develop interregional cooperation, it is proposed to announce the Year of Regions of Belarus and China and hold it within three years, from 2021 to 2023. The President of Belarus and the President of the People’s Republic of China also discussed the issue of another personal meeting. On this issue, the positions coincide: as soon as the situation with the pandemic improves slightly, such a meeting will be held for the discussion of all issues.