China, Belarus upgrade bilateral ties
▶ Respecting chosen development paths ‘sets example’ for intl relations
China and Belarus on Thursday agreed to upgrade bilateral relations to all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership, following a meeting between President Xi Jinping and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on the sidelines of the 22nd meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
Belarus becomes China’s second all-weather strategic partner, following Pakistan which has been an all-weather strategic cooperation partner of China since 2015.
The 22nd meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO on Friday began the process to admit Belarus to the SCO as a member. As an SCO observer state, Belarus had submitted an official application to become a full member.
Analysts said the upgrade of China-Belarus relations follows 30 years of deepened bilateral cooperation in various fields including economic, trade and political engagement, and deepened mutual trust, and that the historical leap in bilateral relations set up a strong example for state-tostate relations amid unilateral sanctions and bloc confrontation stirred up by the US and also injected stability to Central Asia and East Europe that are coping with challenges of an economic downturn and the threat of a “color revolution.”
The two countries issued a joint statement which said the two sides respect and support development paths and domestic and foreign policies chosen by each other, and firmly support each other on issues concerning their respective core interests including sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.
Zhao Huirong, an Eastern European studies expert from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that Belarus was called an all-weather strategic partner, reflecting how ChinaBelarus relations have maintained a high-level mutual trust and cooperation over decades.
She said the significance of all-weather strategic partnership lies in that countries of different sizes can maintain equal and cooperative relations and achieve common development, and that China-Belarus relations set an example for international relations and serve as a model for a new type of state-to-state engagement.
The joint statement sets out a clear plan for bilateral cooperation across various fields, puts forward guidelines and direction of future cooperation which could help upgrade bilateral practical cooperation and bring more benefits to the two peoples, Zhao said.
Experts stressed that the historical leap in ChinaBelarus ties does not just serve the development of the two countries, but also serves to the regional stability and prosperity, as Central Asia and East Europe have been plagued by economic plight caused by COVID-19 and the West’s sanctions as well as threat of interference of the external forces.