All-Weather Partnership: Lukashenko Announces Course On Deepening Strategic Cooperation with China

Beijing is a vital point of support for Minsk. This was stated by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at a meeting on developing cooperation with China.

This is another of the global discussions dedicated to the country's relationships with key international partners. At the end of 2025, authorities extensively discussed Africa; now it is time to sum up the five-year cooperation with China. Relations between the two countries are established as an all-weather strategic partnership. This is the highest, elite level of bilateral cooperation used in Chinese diplomacy.

Alexander Lukashenko, President of Belarus:

“China is our most reliable ally on all issues. China is not rushing, this is traditional, and we are used to it. We are learning a lot from the Chinese today. In the context of tectonic geopolitical changes, Beijing is a crucial support point for Minsk — and not only for Minsk. The special status of Belarus-China interaction is recognized and taken into account by everyone — from Russians and Americans to African countries. Our people now have a different perception of China than they did five years ago. For example, 'BELAZ' is almost in every Belarusian yard; it turned out to be a good machine. Minsk has been decorated with world-class sports facilities — a gift from true friends. Learning Chinese and studying in China has become normal for our advanced youth. Expanding air links (Hainan, Shanghai, Urumqi) will quickly restore tourist flows. By the way, this is one of the government’s promises, and we will significantly increase the share of China in our gross domestic product from almost 2% to 5%, so the decision to build strategic relations with China at the highest level remains unchanged. On the contrary, we will invest resources, time, and attention to strengthen our cooperation — there are all the reserves for that.”

Alexander Lukashenko, President of Belarus:

Recalling his early visits to China, he noted that at that time, the country was different from today. According to him, technology was the main and absolute priority for China when discussing any cooperation.

He gave as an example the construction of a service center for BELAZ equipment, which he had the opportunity to visit. Speaking about current relations, the head of state emphasized that even today, the main goal of visits to China for Belarus remains access to advanced technologies.

Since 2020, China has been Belarus’s second-largest trading partner after Russia. Joint exports to this market in 2025 amounted to $1.7 billion.

“I am confident we can do more. The levers for this are well known: our own supply chain with warehouses and logistics, direct supplies, including to retail networks and end consumers via e-commerce, joint production on their territory and specifically for the Chinese buyer. Finally, work with Chinese regions, which is still frankly lagging. I warn that tasks in the new directive should be written not only in pieces and kilograms. This is a strategic, programmatic document. It must set strategic goals. For example, increasing China's share of Belarusian exports. Ideally — to double-digit figures. That would be a qualitative change. The specific numbers in terms of organizations and goods are the responsibility of the government and the vice-premier,” — emphasized the Belarusian leader.

Today, dozens of Chinese companies are registered in the industrial park “Great Stone.” The new management of the park and the government should help accelerate the launch and reach planned capacities of all declared projects. Overall, it is necessary to reformat the investment direction in cooperation with China.

“It's necessary to reformat the investment approach. Chinese foreign investments are setting records, especially in Belt and Road countries. Our government also reports growth (over 9 months of 2025, compared to the same period in 2024, by more than 2.5 times, reaching $443 million). But the directive (on developing relations with China) included much more ambitious targets (at least half a billion dollars annually, and at least $150 million of direct investments in each region and Minsk),” — said the president. “When you see the figures of direct Chinese investments by regions (Vitebsk — $1 million, Grodno — $100,000 over five years), it’s clear who is working and who is not — not just in China, but in general.”

The president emphasizes the need to define the main directions of work. Discuss key projects promoted recently, including during high-level visits to China in 2025.

Preparation is underway for a new directive on developing relations with China, which must be as specific as possible. This was reported to journalists by First Deputy Prime Minister Nikolai Snopkov after the meeting.

Nikolai Snopkov, First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus:

“The principle of working with China has already been clearly defined by the president. This is a strategic direction of our cooperation forever. Regarding the directive, we proceed from the fact that this is an internal document. Of course, it is based on the fact that this is a forever cooperation strategy, but the time for specific actions is also for China. That is, the requirement from the country’s leader: the directive must be maximally specific, data-driven, with responsible leaders for implementing the results and plans embedded in the directive — and with monitoring not in five years but annually.”

Earlier, Belarus adopted two presidential directives on developing relations with China. These documents aim to further deepen the countries’ strategic partnership.