Industrial co-operation between Minsk and Beijing can be strengthened – as stated by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to Belarus Zhang Wenchuan in his talk with STV TV channel
Belarus-China ties have been growing stronger over the years, and 2025-2026 have been declared the years of industrial co-operation between Minsk and Beijing.
“Our enterprises, research institutes and universities are now liaising very closely, working over the implementation of a number of joint projects. We will continue developing the already existing areas and will also open up new ones – i.e. the IT industry. As for AI, we have great prospects here. I am sure that many mutually beneficial joint projects will be developed over these two years,” the diplomat said.
Zhang Wenchuan noted that Belarusian goods are actively conquering the Chinese market, “An increasing number of Belarusian products are entering the Chinese market, and food – such as meat, dairy products and vegetable oil – is extremely popular. Last year, Belarus actively participated in the Silk Road E-Commerce initiative organised by China for the benefit of the whole world, and its national pavilion demonstrated impressive results on more than ten major Chinese online platforms, and the total number of subscribers has already exceeded 2.7m. In the future, China will take even more practical measures to expand imports, opening up new opportunities of the huge Chinese market to all countries of the world, including Belarus.”
The diplomat also said that he visited many Belarusian food-, footwear- and clothing-producing enterprises in 2025. “I think all these high-quality products have the opportunity to enter the Chinese market because our market is open. I want to say that, probably, agricultural products have an advantage,” he noted.
Zhang Wenchuan recommended that Belarusian enterprises be more active in the Chinese market, take advantage of the opportunities of exhibitions and fairs, and generally share more information about themselves.
The people of China were much impressed by the gift of President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko to his colleague and friend Xi Jinping: potatoes harvested on the territory of his residence. On social networks, Chinese began to share recipes for draniki [potato pancakes] and noted that it was the sincerest gift that money cannot buy. The diplomat explained why the seemingly simple gift caused a real stir, “We have a good proverb: a gift is nothing without love. The closest friend brought potatoes grown himself, travelling more than 8 thousand kilometres. That’s a great love.”
Zhang Wenchuan added that he had eaten draniki – one of the main national dishes of Belarus – more than once. “Draniki are unique in Belarus. Each region has its own draniki, and recipes differ,” he noted.
There is another reference to Belarus in the Chinese Embassy: it is an embroidered painting featuring national ornaments, which is a kind of connecting thread between the two countries.