Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (L) meets with Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan at the presidential palace in Belarus, May 28, 2018. Wang paid a visit to Belarus from May 27 to 29. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei)
MINSK, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan on Monday met with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on bilateral ties and regional cooperation.
Wang conveyed to Lukashenko Chinese President Xi Jinping's sincere greetings and best wishes, saying that Xi looks forward to his attendance at the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in China and meeting him again, which will give a new big boost to the development of China-Belarus relations.
Xi attaches great importance to the relationship between China and Belarus, said Wang, adding that guided by the two heads of state, bilateral relations have been running at high levels over recent years.
Wang noted that the two countries have forged a comprehensive strategic partnership featuring mutual trust and win-win cooperation, which has opened broad prospects for bilateral cooperation in various areas.
China and Belarus, he said, enjoy continuously strengthening political mutual trust, hold the same or similar stances on major global and regional affairs, and steadfastly support each other on issues related to their respective core interests and major concerns.
Beijing respects the development path Belarus has chosen in accordance with its national conditions, and is glad to witness the remarkable achievements Minsk has made in maintaining political stability and boosting socio-economic development under Lukashenko's wise leadership, he said, adding that China supports Belarus playing an important role in promoting regional security and stability.
Thanks to the two countries' joint efforts, bilateral win-win cooperation is growing steadily both in breadth and in depth, covering such areas as economy, security and people-to-people exchanges and expanding at both national and local levels, said Wang, adding that the rich fruit of bilateral collaboration has further enriched the China-Belarus partnership.
The two sides, he suggested, should continue to strengthen political mutual trust and join hands to build a community with a shared future, and should also integrate their interests more tightly and dovetail their economic development plans more closely, so as to achieve common development and prosperity.
The China-Belarus industrial park, a special economic zone jointly developed by the two countries in the Minsk Region, is a key project personally promoted by the two presidents, and has so far made encouraging progress, he said, calling for concerted efforts to build it into a landmark cooperation project within the framework of the Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative.
China, he added, welcomes Belarus' participation in the China International Import Expo to be held later this year in Shanghai.
On the SCO mechanism, Wang said China appreciates Belarus' involvement as an SCO observer and will continue to support Minsk playing a constructive role in pushing forward the organization's development.
For his part, Lukashenko asked Wang to convey his sincere greetings and best wishes to Xi, saying he looks forward to attending the SCO summit and meeting the Chinese president once again.
The two countries enjoy a time-honored friendship, trust each other and treat each other equally, said the president, adding that Belarus is a strategic partner China can fully trust.
The Belarusian side, he said, highly appreciates and supports Xi's vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind as well as the Xi-proposed B&R Initiative, and stands ready to join hands with China to align their development strategies and turn the China-Belarus industrial park into a pearl on the Silk Road Economic Belt, the overland part of the initiative.
Belarus is actively preparing for its participation in the upcoming import expo in China and is willing to step up cooperation with China within the SCO framework, he said.
