Belarus is ready to share advanced technologies with China

The President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, has met with Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Peking University Committee Hao Ping and representatives of Chinese universities

The high-profile event has been attended by heads of 15 Chinese universities, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to the Republic of Belarus Xie Xiaoyong, as well as Belarus’ Minister of Education Andrei Ivanets and rectors of nine Belarusian universities, including regional ones. Among the participants were representatives of Peking, Nankai, Southeastern, Wuhan, Jilin universities and other Chinese higher education institutions.

Forum of Rectors of Higher Education Institutions of Belarus and China in Minsk      belta

A strong Chinese delegation of rectors representing a number of Chinese universities has arrived in Minsk to participate in the Forum of Rectors of Higher Education Institutions of Belarus and China. 
The President stated his support for the initiative put forward by Belarus’ and China’s universities to establish a fundamental research centre,

“I am convinced that the activity of a fundamental research centre will launch a new round of scientific and technical development. Given that we have absolutely no closed topics to discuss with our friends in China, we are ready to share, among other things, those technologies that China does not possess today.”

The Head of State suggested considering the possibility of holding a joint youth forum within the framework of the Days of Friendship and Unity of the Belarusian State University (BSU) and Peking University in 2025. “It is necessary to make such forums annual and invite students from partner universities to participate,” Aleksandr Lukashenko underlined.
The President of Belarus thanked the Chinese side and personally Hao Ping for their attention and support in the implementation of the joint educational programme in biotechnology. “Our students are very pleased with the training under this programme. It would be beneficial to have more programmes like this. This area is extremely important for us, and the Belarusian side is interested in extending this programme to the master’s level,” the Belarusian leader pointed out.
Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that it was the first time that such a solid delegation of rectors from top higher education institutions of the People’s Republic of China came to Belarus. “This is a vivid example of the high-level relations between Belarus and China, an indicator of our growing co-operation not only in economy, but also in science, education, culture and other areas,” the Head of State stressed.
The President invited all participants of the meeting to start discussing the most topical questions and issues currently existing between China and Belarus.
Addressing Hao Ping, Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasised, “It has been a long time since we met in China. We have a lot of good humanitarian projects, including in sports and culture. Their implementation might start in liaison with Peking University, and then we will extend this practice to involve your colleagues who are present here. We will be glad to be in demand in your huge, promising and rapidly developing state. We rejoice at your success more than anyone else.” The President concluded with the words that he was ready to discuss any topic with the Chinese side and make the necessarydecisions.
Aleksandr Lukashenko noted the vibrant co-operation between the two countries in politics and economy. “I think the time has come to step up interaction both in education and science,” the President said. The Head of State proposed to raise the co-operation in those areas to a new level by developing contacts not only between universities, “Let us think not just about university-to-university co-operation. Let us think about creating a global educational and scientific platform in Belarus in order to spread education, science, and culture to the European continent. We are ready to play a serious role in this regard. Indeed, we are moving forward step by step, implementing certain projects, but time plays a crucial role now. We need to do everything quickly in order to be a leader and achieve results.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko assured that the Chinese side could fully count on Belarus in the development of co-operation, including in education and science. The President of Belarus added that this topic had been thoroughly discussed during the talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to China in December 2023.
“We agreed with Mr. Xi Jinping that if necessary, China could use Belarus to promote its interests in Europe,” the Belarusian leader recalled. “China cannot do without Europe. China is a giant country that sets the tone in the global arena. Therefore, it needs to co-operate with the main centres of pillar on our planet — the United States, the European Union, Russia, India, and other countries. In this regard, we are ready to provide you with all possible support in promoting your interests to the European Union. A lot has been done in this direction.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed that he had known President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping for a long time, even before he became the head of the country. “Mr. Xi Jinping came to Minsk and we had a detailed and lengthy discussion of international problems and where our countries stood on this or that matter. I told him then that China would soon become a power that would set the tone in the world. That is exactly what happened. Today, no one doubts this anymore,” the President noted.
The Head of State recalled that he had visited China when he was a deputy and predicted a great future for this country. Almost no one believed in this back then, but time has shown that Aleksandr Lukashenko was right. “Since I became President three decades ago, we have been carefully and consistently building our mutual friendship, step by step. We maintain good relations with the leadership of the People’s Republic of China. You invest a lot in Belarus in those areas where we do not have technology. You set up in our country cutting-edge enterprises, which are only 4-5 in the world. One of them is the Belarusian National Biotechnology Corporation (BNBC) — one of the leading enterprises. We constantly expand the scope of this company’s activities. China helps us a lot in the fields of defence and security. This is no secret. We work together in many areas,” the Belarusian leader added.

Many co-operation agreements signed during Belarus-China Forum of University Rectors     Ilya Shvedko

Aleksandr Lukashenko announced significant high-impact projects on co-operation with China in culture and sports.

“We highly appreciate your visit also because it takes place on the eve of the 80th anniversaryof Belarus’ liberation from the Nazis. Military representatives of the People’s Republic of China have always taken part in our military parade. We are very grateful to you for always responding to our requests and taking part in various cultural events. We will not leave a favour unanswered. We are preparing a very solid programme with which our youth will come to China to present not only Belarusian but also the entire Slavic culture in the People’s Republic of China. I think we will do it in the near future,” the Belarusian leader said.

As for sports, Aleksandr Lukashenko stated his desire to implement the project, which the parties agreed upon during his visit to Peking University in December 2023, at the earliest possible date. “We agreed to build a sports centre at Peking University with the help of Belarus. I am convinced that I will find time to come to China once again and present Belarusian sports, including hockey, at a higher level. We want to co-operate with you. We want the Chinese to play hockey at the level of world teams, and you have already started doing this very seriously — you participate in the Russian KHL Open Championship. We also play in this league,” the President pointed out. “We would like to make a more considerable contribution to the development of culture and sports in China.”
The Belarusian leader reminded that the parties had already implemented many projects in architecture and urban planning, “Speaking of Minsk, you should be aware that we agreed with President Xi Jinping that the Chinese would build a good hotel and a Chinatown in Belarus. And China has implemented this. We have a Chinatown now very close to the Independence Palace, and the Beijing Hotel built by your builders.”
Currently, the Chinese side is engaged in the construction of two large sports facilities in Minsk — a stadium and a swimming pool.
Aleksandr Lukashenko also proposed to build another landmark facility for the capital and the whole of Belarus with the participation of Chinese specialists, “We would like to agree with you to help us, especially in terms of architecture planning, build a museum of Belarus’ history similar to the Chinese museum. We are already co-operating with your specialists. It will be very close and will definitely grace our Minsk. We have ambitious plans, both in economy and politics. I want you to tell the Chinese leadership that we will always be reliable friends for you.”

Based on materials of sb.by and belta.by