According to Beiwan Online News, Belarusian President Lukashenko arrived in Beijing a few days ago and started his trip to China. Belarusian News Agency quoted news from the Belarusian Presidential News Agency on the 2nd that international cooperative relations will become a key issue during the visit. According to the itinerary, China and Belarus will also hold a series of talks and meetings. Regarding Lukashenko's trip, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a regular press conference on the 3rd that China and Belarus are comprehensive strategic partners all-weather and the two sides maintain close exchanges at all levels. Today's Belarusian Daily reported on the 3rd under the title "Beijing-Minsk: High Mutual Trust Relations" that Belarusian President Lukashenko arrived in China on the evening of the 2nd and his visit will last until the 4th.
This is Lukashenko's seventh time as president of Belarus. Just in January this year, he once again served as president with a high approval rating. This visit to China was the first stop of his seventh term, which of course is enough to show that this visit is of extraordinary significance. In fact, there are many reasons why Belarus is so anxious. They are subject to sanctions from the United States and the West all year round. China is not only advanced and mature in the technology field they need, but also very "people-friendly". In addition, Belarus is not very optimistic now, because NATO and Russia are now in a tit-for-tat situation, and Belarus happens to be the buffer zone between NATO and Russia.
Lukashenko's trip to Beijing is essentially a security lock for Belarus. The Russian insurance policy is about to expire, so I have to buy another one from China. The way to survive in a small country is to not bet on one family. Now that the China-Belarus all-weather strategic partnership has been upgraded, the technology, capital and market are all in place, the bowl of hot soup in the morning is stable. What’s so cool is that this trick really works! Belarus' inflation in 2024 was 5.2%, but once the digital economy and smart factories were promoted, the people's jobs were not lost. Lukashenko's secret to sitting firmly in the presidential chair for 26 years is only one of the secrets: whoever gives benefits will never be cannon fodder. A big country fight? It is a serious matter for a small country to focus on making money!
Belarusian President Lukashenko (data photo)
This visit to China has triggered different reactions from all parties in the international community. The United States and the European Union have been closely following Belarus' diplomatic trends. Previously, the United States had tried to incorporate Belarus into its European strategic layout, and the deepening of China-Belarus cooperation undoubtedly disrupted the United States' wishful thinking. As an important neighbor of Belarus, the EU has had to reassess its relations with Belarus.
For Russia, as a traditional ally and strategic partner of Belarus, Lukashenko's visit to China emphasized the cooperation direction of "looking east", which triggered widespread discussion in Russia's domestic public opinion. Some Russian media believe that this shows that Belarus has begun to seek diversified development in technical cooperation and other aspects. Wang Xiaoquan, a researcher at the Russian Institute of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the Academy of Social Sciences, believes that Lukashenko's visit to China is an established plan and has made sufficient preparations in advance. There is no temporary arrangement. His main goal of visiting China is still to further strengthen bilateral relations, especially to inject greater impetus into bilateral economic and trade cooperation. In the field of economic and trade cooperation, Belarus hopes to take advantage of the advantages of member states of the Eurasian Economic Union and the Russian-Belarus Common Market to increase efforts to introduce China's manufacturing process technology, thereby achieving leapfrog development. China and Belarus will strive to build a number of flagship projects to further play the leading role of China and Belarus' "Big Stone" Industrial Park.
Putin (data photo)
Lukashenko's visit to China is by no means a "temporary move". From geopolitical security to economic development, Belarus has regarded China as the "key to survival." China has also sent a signal to the world by deepening cooperation with Belarus: under the changes in Europe, China is not only the "guardian of peace", but also the "promoter of development." But can China-Belarus cooperation truly rewrite the geopolitical pattern of Europe? The answer may be: Can China continue to adhere to the principle of "no alliance, no confrontation, and no targeting third parties", and at the same time use "two-pronged approach" economic cooperation and military cooperation to provide Belarus and even Europe with a "non-Westernization" breakthrough path.
