Belarus sees China as strategic partner: PM

Belarus sees China as a strategic partner, Belarusian Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov told visiting Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan on Friday.

Kobyakov said relations with China remain a foreign policy priority for Belarus and a good example of an equal, respectful and mutually beneficial partnership between one of the largest countries in the world and Belarus which is relatively small, the Belarusian government said.

Kobyakov stressed that as the relations between the two countries had developed into a comprehensive strategic partnership, now the common task was to give concrete expression to this strategic cooperation.

The Belarusian prime minister said that alongside many economic projects that are underway or have been completed with the participation of Chinese companies, much attention was being paid to the construction of the Chinese-Belarusian Industrial Park Great Stone.

"During his visit to Belarus in May 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping named the project 'the pearl' of the Silk Road Economic Belt. The project has become not just a kind of brand but a concrete goal for all those participating in its implementation," Kobyakov said.

He expressed hope that the visit of the Chinese delegation involved in the organization of the seventh meeting of the working group on the project will bring considerable results.

Zhong thanked Kobyakov and the government of Belarus for the warm welcome, saying his visit to Minsk was aimed to discuss joint projects, primarily on the creation of the Industrial Park Great Stone. Endit