Lukashenko backs Xi Jinping’s peace plan while calling on China to invest in Belarus – POLITICO

China has pledged to boost trade ties with Belarus despite Western sanctions on a close ally of Russia, whose autocratic ruler Alexander Lukashenko arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for a state visit and expressed support for China’s peace plan in Ukraine.

Lukashenko, who refused to step down after a rigged election three years ago and is a close collaborator of Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine, has been given VIP treatment in China. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army fired a 21-gun salute for him in Tiananmen Square.

“The China-Belarus friendship is unbreakable,” Xi told Lukashenko, the first European head of state to receive a state visit since the Chinese leader’s unconventional third term last year. “China and Belarus are joint guarantors of international justice,” his remarks were reported by China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency.

Lukashenko, who has been hit hard by Western sanctions for his role in aiding Putin’s war, has secured new commitments from Xi to further invest in Belarus.

“We will expand economic and trade cooperation and comprehensively build the China-Belarus Industrial Park,” Xi told Lukashenko. According to Belarusian statistics quoted by Xinhua News Agency, the net profit of industrial park enterprises will reach 34.1 million Belarusian rubles in 2022, equivalent to 12.2 million Belarusian rubles, a year-on-year increase of 144%.

During Lukashenko’s visit, the two countries signed bilateral agreements on trade, industry, agriculture, customs, technology, public health, tourism, sports and local government cooperation.

Lukashenko said he “fully supports” China’s position paper on resolving the Ukraine crisis published last week.

Xi also delivered his first speech on Ukraine since the publication of the document, which was questioned by the European Union and the United States, though Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he was willing to consider some parts of Beijing’s proposal.

“The core of China’s position is to promote peace and talks,” Xi said. “We must adhere to the direction of political settlement, abandon all Cold War mentality, respect the legitimate security concerns of all countries, and build a balanced, effective and sustainable European security architecture.”

He also accused “certain countries” of alluding to the West’s “politicization and instrumentalization” of the world economy during the “Ukrainian crisis,” calling on them to be “genuinely committed to [steps] Conducive to ceasefire and peaceful settlement. “

Xi made no mention of Zelensky’s call for a meeting. Russian media reported that Xi Jinping will visit Moscow later this year.