Belarusian leader visits China amid Ukraine tensions

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko speaks during an exclusive interview with Xinhua

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russia, arrived in Beijing yesterday for a state visit that will be watched for hints about China’s attitude to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

China claims neutrality in the war, but U.S. officials have warned recently that it is considering sending military assistance to Russia. Beijing has called the U.S. allegations a smear campaign, and said it is committed to promoting peace talks.

China has long had a close relationship with Lukashenko. But his trip also illustrates the depth of Beijing’s ties to Russian leader Vladimir Putin and his allies.

Lukashenko’s government has strongly backed Moscow and allowed Belarus’ territory to be used as a staging ground for the initial invasion of Ukraine a year ago. Russia has maintained a contingent of troops and weapons in Belarus and the two neighbors and allies conducted joint military drills.

This stance left Lukashenko even more isolated in Europe, where his country faces sanctions from the European Union over both its role in the war and his repression of domestic opposition.

Beijing on Friday issued a proposal calling for a cease-fire and peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, but has also said it has a “no-limits friendship” with Russia and has refused to criticize Moscow’s invasion, or even to call it an invasion. It has accused the U.S. and NATO of provoking the conflict and condemned sanctions leveled against Russia and entities seen as aiding its military effort.

Last week, those sanctions were expanded to include a Chinese company known as Spacety China, which has supplied satellite imagery of Ukraine to affiliates of Wagner Group, a private Russian military contractor owned by a close associate of Putin. A Luxembourg-based subsidiary of Spacety China was also targeted.

“The U.S. has no right to point fingers at China-Russia relations. We will by no means accept the U.S. pressure and coercion,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Monday at a daily briefing.

In a recent interview with Chinese media, Lukashenko said that now is “a unique situation … to put a stop to the conflict.”

Belarus and the China experience

“I have the warmest, kindest memories from my first visit to China, from my first impressions of the country, and from my cooperation with the leaders of the People’s Republic of China,” Lukashenko told Xinhua in the exclusive interview ahead of his visit to China.

Lukashenko has “high hopes” for his visit to China. “I have been to China many times. I am very glad to visit China again in the coming days and meet with the Chinese leader, my old friend President Xi Jinping, a very smart, wise, creative and modern person,” the Belarusian president noted.

During the interview to Xinhua, Lukashenko looked back on his previous visits to China, recalling his first visit to China as the president of Belarus over two decades ago as well as his earlier trips as a member of parliament to China’s special economic zones.

At that time, China was not the same as it is now, he said. “The population was huge … Everyone had to be fed and dressed. China needed to strengthen national defense. Everything was not easy. However, China was determined to achieve all of these,” Lukashenko said.

After visiting China, Lukashenko said he felt that in just a couple of decades China would achieve significant development, so China’s experience should be learned.

The president noted that Belarus had drawn on China’s experience, primarily that regarding special economic zones. “Based on this, we have established several free economic zones, including the Great Stone China-Belarus Industrial Park … China’s experience lay at the heart of it,” he said.

The industrial park mentioned by Lukashenko is the largest project to attract investment in Belarus and a landmark cooperation project within the Belt and Road framework, which was promoted by the two heads of state personally and prized by the two governments.

The interview was first released last week, but parts of it were shared online again on Monday night by Belarusian state media. MDT/Agencies