Head of President Administration: Belarus, China reached historical maximum of trade turnover of almost $8.5bn

In 2023, Belarus and China reached a historical maximum of trade turnover of almost $8.5 billion, and Belarusian exports to China increased by almost 30 percent – as noted by Dmitry Krutoi, Head of the Belarus President Administration, at a meeting with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of China to Belarus Zhang Wenchuan

“Let me congratulate you on the start of your official mission in Belarus and wish you success in your diplomatic work for the benefit of our countries. You can always count on the full co-operation and support of the President Administration in the implementation of our numerous projects. I also take this opportunity to once again congratulate the People's Republic of China on the 75th anniversary of the country's formation. Under the leadership of the Communist Party, the country's economic growth and social stability, as well as China's scientific and technological achievements, are visible. The great rebirth of the Chinese nation, taking into account the emphasis on productive forces, is really impressive. Our modest contribution within the Belarusian-Chinese relations, as well as all-weather and comprehensive development and co-operation, are also likely to assist you in moving forward," Mr. Krutoi said.

The Head of the Belarus President Administration expressed gratitude to the leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China – in particular, its Foreign Affairs Department – for organising a visit to the People's Republic of China in September this year. Mr. Krutoi expressed confidence that the meetings and meaningful conversations held during the visit will also contribute to the further development of projects and contacts between the countries.

“The text of a co-operation agreement between the Belarus President Administration and the Foreign Affairs Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China will be worked out during the return visit of our Chinese friends to Belarus in the near future. The current document is outdated and requires serious revision, taking into account certain changes both in the structure of the Administration of the President of Belarus and in the functionality of the Foreign Affairs Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, as well as the tasks set for us by the leaders of our countries. With this in mind, it is necessary to work out new areas of work. An agreement was reached to send all deputy heads of the Belarus President Administration to China so that they could get acquainted with the specifics of the areas in which they work – so that, subsequently, after working out a number of points and issues – to register them in a new document of the agreement,” Mr. Krutoi emphasised.

Speaking about interregional co-operation, he stressed that President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko invited the heads of Chinese provinces to the republic during his meeting with Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China Li Qiang. “We have a good experience of co-operation with the regions of the Russian Federation, and we are ready to carry out similar work with the provinces of the People's Republic of China. While in Beijing, we agreed that we would choose three cities and four provinces with which we would try to work out agreements on zones of deep economic development, since medium and small companies that are ready for co-operation are not always visible from the central level. We will try to strengthen this interaction in a serious way through the regional track,” Mr. Krutoi added.

The Head of the Belarus President Administration drew attention to the need for a more detailed study of the work experience of the Service Centre for Working with Citizens in Beijing, which provides a wide range of services to the public and organises feedback to citizens. "Given that the Administration of the President of Belarus is responsible for dealing with citizens' appeals, your experience of using modern technologies, artificial intelligence and neural networks within the Service Centre for Working with Citizens is interesting to us," he added.

During the meeting, Mr. Krutoi also noted that Belarus actively intends to join the initiatives of the Chinese President on global development. “During my visit to China, the creation of a fund in the amount of about $14 billion for different countries was announced. The People's Republic of China is waiting for proposals and initiatives from us on global security, global civilisation and projects related to artificial intelligence. It is important for us to study the experience of China and include it in joint co-operation projects. The agenda is rich and requires constant attention and discussion. I think, having started working as the Ambassador and immersed yourself in these projects, you feel pleasure from the scale and level of co-operation that we have achieved by now,” he stressed.