Belarus President Lukashenko returns to China seeks stronger ties.

Alexander Lukashenko, the President of Belarus, met with Xi Jinping, the Leader of China, in Beijing on Monday for the second time this year. During their meeting, the diplomatically isolated leader took the opportunity to highlight the economic links that Belarus maintains with the Asian powerhouse in the face of crippling sanctions from the West.

On a “working visit” to the Chinese capital, the close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin was met by Xi Jinping at the Diaoyutai official Guesthouse for a “working lunch” and three hours of talks, as reported by Belarussian official media. Xi Jinping is now in Beijing.

Lukashenko, who has been the president of Belarus since 1994, supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 by enabling Moscow to use Belarusian soil to commence the war. However, he is now confronted with a damaged economy mainly dependent on trade with Russia.

Xi Jinping is quoted as saying to his guest, “China is willing to continue to strengthen strategic cooperation with Belarus, promote practical cooperation, and deepen bilateral relations,” as the Chinese state news agency Xinhua reports.

“The two sides should implement projects like the China-Belarus Industrial Park and promote more achievements in China-Belarus industrial cooperation,” according to Xi’s statement to Xinhua.

According to the statistics provided by the United Nations Comtrade Office, the world’s second-biggest economy was Belarus’ seventh-largest trading partner in 2021 and before the conflict in Ukraine. Even though China was Belarus’ second-largest import partner, the Eastern European nation purchased around three-quarters of what it did from Russia.

According to Belarusian official media, Lukashenko praised the “more than 120” two-way trips that Chinese and Belarusian parties have made since the leaders’ most recent meeting in March. He also took the opportunity to stress the potential for his nation to expand its trade ties with China.

According to the article, it was “the only issue” that Lukashenko wanted to talk with Xi about on this visit to the Chinese capital. Lukashenko wanted to explore the possibility of accelerating the pace of cooperation between China and Belarus.

According to Xinhua, Xi told Lukashenko that both nations should strengthen the convenience of cross-border travel and boost economic and trade projects such as the China-Belarus Industrial Park. Additionally, Xi said that people-to-people encounters should also be encouraged.

As a result of Belarus’s support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the longer-standing difficulties regarding political persecution, the country is subject to sanctions from several nations, including the United States of America, the European Union, Britain, Canada, and the Netherlands, among other countries.

“Unlike Western countries that are trying to cut everything into pieces,” according to Belarusian state media, Lukashenko assured Xi that the world would praise China for its efforts to attract countries to his centerpiece Belt and Road Initiative. Belarusian state media published Lukashenko’s statement.

According to the Xinhua article, Xi pledged to improve the coordination and collaboration between China and Belarus in multilateral bodies such as the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

“China and Belarus are important forces in the reform and construction of the global governance system,” according to Xi.