On 8 June 2021, a video conference was held with the participation of the Chairman of the House of Representatives Vladimir Andreichenko, Chairperson of the Council of the Republic Natalya Kochanova and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress Li Zhanshu.

The parties discussed the situation in the world, topical directions for the development of Belarusian-Chinese cooperation in the political, economic and humanitarian fields. They also touched upon the mutual support within the framework of international organizations, interaction in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and issues related to the implementation of the Belt and Road initiative.

In his opening remarks, the Chairman of the House of Representatives warmly greeted the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and congratulated him on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, noting that over its centuries-old history, the party has become the largest political organization in the world.

Vladimir Andreichenko stressed that thanks to the warm friendly relations between the leaders of the two countries, the Belarusian-Chinese cooperation has reached its highest level — a trusting all-round strategic partnership.

The Chairperson of the Council of the Republic Natalya Kochanova also noted that the Republic of Belarus values its relations with great China which, thanks to the friendship of the President of the Republic of Belarus and the Chairman of the People’s Republic of China, have reached the level of strategic relations. Expressing hope for the continuation of the meetings on the level of leaders of the two countries, she stressed that Belarus learns a lot from China, whose authority and influence have been growing fast in the international arena.

Li Zhanshu stated his opinion that over the years of independence under the leadership of Aleksandr Lukashenko Belarus has achieved outstanding success in all spheres of state building. “The Chinese side proceeds from the premise that the internal affairs of Belarus should be decided independently by the people themselves. We are convinced that the Belarusian partners will be able to maintain political stability and social tranquility,” he said. Li Zhanshu stressed the need to consistently intensify political interaction between China and Belarus, invariably support each other in issues affecting the key interests of two countries, and effectively protect them.

Li Zhanshu also drew attention to the necessity to intensify work on the Belt and Road Initiative. “Belarus is a significant partner for us in this area of cooperation,” he said, noting the important role of the Great Stone Industrial Park in the implementation of this project.

The Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China also noted the great potential in the field of interregional cooperation. “All regions of Belarus have established friendly relations with the provinces and cities of China,” he added.

One of the main topics of the dialogue was further development of inter-parliamentary cooperation.

As Vladimir Andreichenko noted, parliamentary interaction over the past period has become an integral part of interstate relations. “We tirelessly develop multifaceted, multi-level cooperation between specialized commissions, working groups, regularly exchange delegations in order to study legislative experience, and provide each other mutual support at international platforms. This support is especially valuable at a time when our country has come under pressure, which, in fact, means pressure, through us, on our partners. It is not to everyone’s liking that we work closely with China, that we were among the first to support the Belt and Road initiative. The Head of state Aleksandr Lukashenko has said this more than once,” emphasized the Chairman of the House of Representatives.

Vladimir Andreichenko also called on his Chinese colleagues to facilitate with the initiatives on information security, creation of a digital good-neighborliness belt and promote them by joint efforts at all international platforms. 

“Assessing the state of our inter-parliamentary relations in general, we can think about the possibility of raising the status of parliamentary ties to the level of the Inter-Parliamentary Commission,” he summarized.

Exchanging of views, the sides also discussed issues of expanding interaction in the spheres of economy, trade, investment cooperation, science, education and health care, strengthening interregional ties and friendship between peoples.

“Thanks to our joint efforts, last year we reached a record level of mutual trade in goods and services - almost 5 billion US dollars. We do not intend to be satisfied with what has already been achieved. Increasing supplies of meat and dairy products and other food products to the Chinese market is seen as promising. Negotiations on the admission of new types of agricultural products to China are at various stages. I am sure that the solution of this issue is in mutual interests,” said Vladimir Andreichenko.

“Today’s meeting clearly confirms that Belarus and China are strategic partners who have been building relations on the basis of mutual trust, respect and consideration of each other’s interests. I am convinced that our countries will consolidate their efforts and will demonstrate, through large-scale cooperation projects, the ineffectiveness of sanctions and diktat policies and the importance of cooperation in solving the issues on the international agenda,” summarized the Chairman of the House of Representatives.

At the end of the meeting, the parties expressed their readiness to hold a face-to-face meeting as soon as the epidemic situation allows.

The event was also attended by the Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives Valery Mitskevich, the Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the Council of the Republic for Foreign Affairs and National Security Sergei Rachkov, the Head of the Secretariat of the House of Representatives Andrei Naumovich and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus Nikolai Borisevich.