Towards common benefits

In early December, the President signed Directive No. 9 on the development of bilateral relations between Belarus and China. The document is another vivid reminder of the fact that relations with China are among the priorities for Belarus. The document is more or less a roadmap for deepening strategic partnerships of the two countries in a wide range of areas until 2025. Specific projects are defined, the implementation of which is necessary to achieve the set tasks. Among them are the promotion of Belarusian exports to the PRC, the construction of social projects through gratuitous assistance and the creation of additional conditions for the arrival of new residents in the Great Stone Industrial Park.

Photo by Vladimir Shlapak

A stimulus to expand activities

Directive No. 9 largely affects aspects of improving the activities of the Great Stone China-Belarus Industrial Park. The Head of the Park’s Administration, Aleksandr Yaroshenko, underlined that the new document focuses on creating special conditions for attracting innovative projects and start-ups to the park that can work in close co-operation, including with Belarusian enterprises.  “We are expanding the scope of economic activity, as envisaged by Decree No. 215. In particular, the expansion means the use of 5G technology and artificial intelligence. Moreover, special emphasis was placed on attracting anchor companies with an investment volume of more than $50m. We plan to attract at least five such companies to the Great Stone Park by 2025. Also, by this time, according to the directive, the number of residents of the Industrial Park should be at least 170 companies.”
The Head of the Park’s Administration, Aleksandr Yaroshenko, noted that the topic of traditional Chinese medicine was also developed in Directive No. 9, “The document sets the task of attracting at least five residents in the field of traditional Chinese medicine to the Great Stone Park in the medium term. This will be facilitated, among other things, by work with our Chinese partners on the allocation of technical and economic assistance, which will also be directed to the creation of a social base for the Industrial Park.”
According to Aleksandr Yaroshenko, one of the projects that will be built in the Park thanks to this free technical and economic assistance will be a polyclinic. It will also house a centre for the development of traditional Chinese medicine.

New supply opportunities

In turn, Kirill Koroteyev, First Deputy Director General of the Industrial Park Development Company CJSC, noted the high importance of Directive No. 9 for the development of the Great Stone Park and many Chinese-Belarusian projects in the current period, when the number of social contacts is decreasing due to the pandemic, “During this period, the intensity of contacts decreases. Accordingly, some projects are slowing down. In its turn, Directive No. 9 clearly demonstrates that it is necessary to increase trade and to work to achieve key parameters. The document underlines the priority order of bilateral relations and their high status.”
He also drew attention to the fact that the directive stipulates the creation of a Chinese-Belarusian trade export-import company with the participation of China Merchants Group Limited at the Industrial Park. The main function of the new business entity will be to promote Belarusian food and non-food products.  “This will be a major project through which Chinese companies can work with any of their spheres in Belarus. Accordingly, this operator will receive the green light in all areas of regulation in China. We are talking about customs issues, phytosanitary control and opening a representative office in China. It should be noted that not all Belarusian enterprises know how to buy the necessary goods in China, especially for industrial purposes, at a time when the country is facing sanctions. The new project, which is now entitled China-Belarus Trade House CJSC will be able to solve this issue, e.g., to control the loading, unloading and quality of products.”
The Chinese-Belarusian Trade House will be an economic entity that will be able to purchase Belarusian products from the manufacturer and carry out their targeted sale to China. Also, the main partner — China Merchants Group — has its own networks with access to the ‘shelf’ in China, which will simplify the conditions for the appearance of Belarusian goods there. The company is scheduled to appear in 2022. The technical issues for getting started have already been identified.
“We have agreed with China Merchants Group on the formula for establishing this company. Apart from the Chinese side, the participants will include the Belarusian Agency for Foreign Economic Activities, recently created on the site of the Development Bank. Both participants will own 45 percent of the shares. A ten percent stake will be owned by the Industrial Park Development Company, which acts as a player balancing and linking the interests of the two parties. The company will be registered in the park, and its warehouses will also be located here.”

By Ilya Kryzhevich