Opinion: Belarus’ all-weather and ironclad relations with China cause concern among Westerners

The Attacking Falcon joint anti-terrorist exercises of Belarus and China are taking place at the Brest training ground, and Vadim Gigin, a deputy of the House of Representatives, Director General of the National Library of Belarus, explained what meaning they have

In his talk with Alfa Radio, the expert primarily drew attention to the fact that the Belarusian-Chinese exercises are in discord with the idea that the fugitives have recently tried to impose.

“Polish President Andrzej Duda went to Beijing, met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, complained about Belarus and Aleksandr Lukashenko, said that Belarusians are bad neighbours for them. However, afterwards, China issued a statement saying that it stands for everyone to be friends, negotiate and resolve issues through dialogue. Our fugitives then began to assert that the Chinese diplomatic language is very difficult, and China actually raised voice at Belarus in that way. How should we then interpret China's further steps? If that statement indicated acute dissatisfaction with Belarus, then, obviously, the country's accession to the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (based on the fugitives’ logic) is evidence of the breaking of Belarusian-Chinese relations. According to their way of thinking, the Belarusian leader’s highly positive talks with Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Astana mean the cooling of the bilateral relations, and the joint exercises of Belarus and China on the borders with Poland are, accordingly, a true slap into the face for the Belarusian side. I want to say that fugitive experts, analysts and other near-political figures are trying to transfer some of their inventions or desires into the sphere of real analysis. They are spreading nonsense, absolutely not understanding the essence of our life. That’s ok: they went away, and it means they will not return. It is great if they prepare similar analytical materials for their [Western] masters,” Mr. Gigin noted.

At the same time, Belarus and China will continue their co-operation in various fields, and their ties will strengthen. The expert explained, “Our relations with China are all-weather and ironclad, and the recent evidence of this is Belarus' accession to the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation and joint exercises. Actually, Chinese military personnel are stationed on the border of the European Union for the first time, so Westerners are concerned about this. Well, it’s normal: it is sometimes beneficial for the nervous system to experience worries.”