Belarus benefits from cooperation with China

MINSK, 8 May (BelTA) – Cooperation with China is beneficial and promising for Belarus, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said when answering the questions from MPs. According to the President, speculations about the alleged threats coming from close links with China are politically and economically biased. “Who wants a new China in the center of Europe? You know who. They shudder to think about China coming here, building its production facilities, investing its funds, and helping us in a bid to secure friendly relations with a country in the center of Europe,” Alexander Lukashenko said. The head of state noted, “You see what Europeans are doing. They view China as a rival, therefore, they start spreading these rumors in the media and are supported by our fifth column who is not aligned with China (you know that); they all stir up tensions saying that the Chinese will come and settle everywhere and there will be no Belarusians left, only Chinese people, ten years from now…” “No one is going to settle here!” Alexander Lukashenko emphasized. To prove his point he mentioned the construction of a cement plant in Volkovysk. The plant was constructed by Chinese workers who left after the construction project was over. “Remember, big politics is behind all this… It was us who asked them to come. Thanks God they came… You know they never make conditions, but provide soft loans. Do not think that this is a tied loan obliging us to buy low-quality stuff from China. China makes only world-class equipment,” the President said. The head of state underlined that while building manufacturing facilities, Chinese use cutting-edge technologies and equipment and sometimes buy them from abroad upon the request of Belarusian specialists. The projects run by China are beneficial for Belarus; Belarusian specialists learn from their Chinese counterparts. The President underlined that China has great financial opportunities and is looking to invest in various parts of the world. “Today China is an empire, tomorrow it will be a global leader. Is it bad to have the allied China to rely on?” the President asked. There are attempts to slow China down, to prevent it from extending its reach, Alexander Lukashenko underlined. “This is the reason why these speculations emerged. They are trying to foment tensions about China’s arrival. They are not coming anywhere. If they need to come somewhere, they have other places to do that. They do not need to travel that far,” the head of state concluded.

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