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China to lend Belarus $1 billion on easy terms, provide $8.8 in gratuitous aid

 

China will lend Belarus $1 billion on favorable terms for bilateral projects and grant it around $8.8 million in gratuitous aid “as a sign of friendship,” said Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s press office on Wednesday, BelaPAN reported.

According to the report, the matter was discussed during a meeting held by the Belarusian leader and Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping in Minsk on March 24.

Messrs. Lukashenka and Xi also discussed the possibility of concluding $3.4 billion worth of contracts between the two countries.

“All the things that China and its leadership have done for Belarus literally in the last three or five years allow me to say that you have arrived in your own republic,” the press office quoted Mr. Lukashenka as telling the Chinese vice president.

“I remember me and Jiang Zemin, the then chairman of the People’s Republic of China, dreaming of increasing trade to $500 million, which we then thought was a very impressive amount. And now, our annual trade totals almost $2.5 billion.”

“I am very grateful to you for the huge support and assistance that you give us in the economic and financial areas,” Mr. Lukashenka said. “We are carrying out projects worth approximately $1 billion with the aid of Chinese funds. We are ready to cooperate with you in all areas. There are no closed subjects. Everybody in the world knows this. We are ready to carry out joint projects in areas ranging from agricultural production to the construction of the nuclear power plant [in Belarus].”

When speaking about the foreign policies pursued by Minsk and Beijing, Mr. Lukashenka said that the authorities shared stances on the major issues on the international agenda.

Belarus also "views as absolutely ungrounded and conflicting with the principles of the UN Charter attempts by external forces to put the issue of Taiwan’s independence on the agenda of the General Assembly,” he noted.

“Their support for the separatism constitutes a threat to both China and the entire international community,” he said.

Mr. Xi said that it was the firm position of the Chinese leadership to develop ties with Belarus, according to the press office.

He noted the need to step up bilateral cooperation in the military, scientific, technical and humanitarian spheres.

Chine hopes for closer cooperation with Minsk in the international arena and a better coordination of their foreign policy priorities, he said.

Beijing will support Minsk when a report on the situation in Belarus will be debated at the UN Council on Human Rights, the vice president.

“We support your efforts to strengthen the Belarusian state`s stability and counter the pressure from outside,” Mr. Xi said.