When we see the Belarusian boulder, it means that we have come to the China-Belarus Industrial Park. The name Jushi was chosen by President Lukashenko of Belarus himself, which means that the cooperation between China and Belarus can be as firm as a rock.

In fact, the total planned area of this industrial park is about 91.5 square kilometers, equivalent to about one-third the size of Minsk. In 2015, President Xi Jinping visited here and witnessed the registration of the first batch of enterprises. Since then, the China-Belarus Industrial Park has developed steadily.

Yaroshenko, Director of the Management Committee of the China-Belarus Industrial Park: At present, the China-Belarus Industrial Park has created more than 2,000 jobs. I want to emphasize that Chinese enterprises in Belarus have played a supplementary role in my country's economic development, which is very important. For example, we have several projects, including the production of automotive internal combustion engines. Many of our enterprises are using this engine. In the past, we were not able to produce these products. The same is true for the production of gearboxes. These two products completely replace imports. , because in the past we all needed to source from abroad.

blueprint into reality

Today, more and more Belarusian employees regard this place as their home—a place of love and hope. Zhou Jinfeng, a Belarusian employee of the China-Belarus Industrial Park: I remember seeing the news about the industrial park. My parents told me that this is a very good platform. If you work here, it will be very good.

Anna, a Belarusian employee of the China-Belarus Industrial Park: When I first came here, there was only one building. Now our office has windows on all sides. I see buildings on the south side, north side, west side, and east side.

Oleg, a Belarusian employee of the China-Belarus Industrial Park: From zero to now, our China-Belarus Jushi Industrial Park is also developing very fast. Up to now, we have 107 companies.

In 2015, when Lukashenko and President Xi Jinping jointly inspected the China-Belarus Industrial Park, they set a goal to build the China-Belarus Industrial Park into a pearl on the Silk Road Economic Belt, which is a win-win situation for both sides. model. Now that seven years have passed, has the goal at that time been achieved?

Lukashenko: The China-Belarus Industrial Park is developing very well. There is still a long way to go to achieve our stated goals, but we are heading in the right direction according to our plan. The greatness of the Jushi Industrial Park is reflected in its development potential as well as its scale, which is why we have to move forward along the route we have drawn up with President Xi Jinping. Yes, we call this industrial park megalith, and President Xi Jinping calls it a pearl—a pearl on the Silk Road, and I promise we will play that role well. The leaders of the Chinese people can call this industrial park a pearl, which makes us very proud, and we will try our best to make it a veritable Silk Road pearl. The enterprises settled in the industrial park not only cover logistics and trade fields, but also set foot in high-tech fields. The settled enterprises not only produce the products needed by Belarus, but also provide products for the whole of Europe and the whole world. These most modern products, whether they are complete sets or assembly parts, can be sold from Belarus to the whole of Europe and to the United States. Products include medicine, auto parts, and complete vehicle manufacturing. The China-Belarus Industrial Park has the most modern and advanced technology, and we are proud of this, but there is only one thing I often tell President Xi Jinping and many Chinese experts who come to work in Belarus, let us develop faster and faster.

Strengthen Belt and Road Cooperation

Regarding how to continue to deepen the construction of the Belt and Road with high quality in the future, including connecting the Belt and Road Initiative with the Eurasian Economic Union, Lukashenko said: We have made it clear that the Belt and Road Initiative and our new Eurasian Economic Union should be strengthened. Policy docking. President Xi Jinping also agrees with our position and supports docking. The leaders of relevant countries also agree with this point of view, and hope that the great China can make full use of the huge market opportunities in our countries. Of course, we don't have as many people as China, but our development prospects are very broad. China can develop cutting-edge technology in our market, buy raw materials, parts and complete machine products, such as oil, natural gas, coal, rare earth metals. We welcome trade cooperation between China and the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union. Belarus is located in the center of Europe. This is a huge platform for China to show its ambitions. It is hoped that China can make full use of the resources here in all aspects. I made this suggestion to President Xi Jinping, and he agreed. Chinese friends are welcome to come to Belarus to start cooperation in various fields. We have no restrictions and concealments on the People's Republic of China, and this will not harm the interests of our neighbors. We all know that the Americans are instigating Europe to take the road of anti-China. Europe is resisting such instigation and rightly so, because if they cut off ties with China and make China their enemy, hopefully Europe won't, America will put pressure on Europe and Europe will probably disappear, bearing the brunt It is Western Europe. In fact, Europeans understand that China has huge opportunities. So come on, let's work together! This is in line with the common interests of all parties, so we must connect the common interests of all parties and connect the Eurasian Economic Union with the Belt and Road Initiative. I believe that the Belt and Road Initiative can bring great benefits to the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union, because the Belt and Road Initiative not only means that China goes to the world, but also means that the world connects China. This is a two-way process, so we not only have huge advantages in the fields of logistics and trade. The harvest also has broad prospects in the field of high-tech science and technology, which are two-way cooperation. It's not out of reach, and I'm very interested in it. Not long ago, we also discussed how to deepen cooperation with China, especially based on the Belt and Road Initiative, at the meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Council of the Eurasian Economic Union. The Belt and Road Initiative is a very good idea.

In September 2022, when you met with President Xi Jinping, you mentioned that Belarus hopes to stand shoulder to shoulder with China and be China's most reliable friend. Now the bilateral relationship has been upgraded to an all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership. Many of our Chinese audiences said that this kind of relationship means that friendship is online 24 hours a day. How do you view the bilateral relations between China and Belarus?

Lukashenko: Over the past few decades, we have always been reliable friends of the Chinese people, and it will always be the case in the future, forever. This is not only the case during my tenure as President of Belarus, other presidents will follow the same friendly policy towards China, because such an idea has been rooted in the hearts of our people. Our people, especially during the period of Western sanctions, have seen clearly who is the enemy and who is the friend. Our people will definitely speak highly of the friendship between Belarus and the Chinese people.

We are grateful for the help you have given us during our difficult times. We are willing to cooperate with China, we will not use our cooperation with China to harm the Chinese people and China, and we will not create difficulties for China. We are very grateful and grateful, this is the character of the Belarusian people.

I studied history first, I studied Chinese history very carefully, especially when we started to make connections, I studied Chinese history again, so education is a good thing. Health, culture, music, all fields have Chinese students receiving education here, and the Chinese students are very good. Many Chinese students study abroad. They can see the world and absorb the essence of what they see and hear to enrich their own history, cultural knowledge and so on. We hope that your cultural groups will often come to Belarus to perform. For example, after the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Heads of State Council held in China, there was a concert in the evening. The concert program is really exciting!

The wonderful performance of Chinese actors on stage is unbelievable. We hope you will bring such programs to Belarus, because this is your excellent culture. You must know that China is a sports powerhouse. We hope that Chinese athletes can join our events, and we hope that China can invite our athletes to participate in your events. We are willing to develop cooperation with China in various fields, not to mention education. Let me tell you, my youngest son is now studying in a Beijing university (in the China-Belarus joint teaching project). So education is not only one-way, Chinese students study in Belarus, and Belarusian students also study in China.Editor/Ma Xue