Fruitful Cooperation and Exchanges Between Chongqing and Belarus

By Liu Dingrui/The World and Chongqing Photo/Tang Anbing

On September 15th,2022,Xi Jinping,President of the People’s Republic of China,and Alexander Lukashenko,President of the Republic of Belarus met on the sidelines of the 22ndmeeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Samarkand,Uzbekistan.The two heads of state had an in-depth exchange of views on China-Belarus relations as well as international and regional issues of common concern,reached a broad consensus,and issued aJoint Statement on Establishing All-Weather Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.According to theStatement,both sides speak highly of the China-Belarus “Sub-National Cooperation Year” in 2021-2022,and they will encourage the opening of sub-regional representative offices in two countries based on the principle of reciprocity.The two sides expect further economic and trade cooperation between Belarus and Chongqing,Qingdao,Tianjin,and other cities in China.

In recent years,Chongqing and Belarus have witnessed frequent high-level visits,fast-growing business cooperation,various cultural and people-to-people exchanges,and fruitful sub-national interactions.In January 2021,the Consulate-General of Belarus in Chongqing was officially opened,boosting the cooperation between the two sides in economy,trade,investment,culture,and people-to-people exchanges greatly.

中華人民共和國主席習近平同白俄羅斯共和國總統亞歷山大·盧卡申科于9月15日在烏茲別克斯坦撒馬爾罕出席上海合作組織成員國元首理事會第二十二次會議期間舉行會晤，兩國元首就中白關系及共同關心的國際和地區問題深入交換意見，達成廣泛共識，并發表了《中華人民共和國和白俄羅斯共和國關于建立全天候全面戰略伙伴關系的聯合聲明》。其中提到，雙方積極評價2021——2022年舉辦的中國和白俄羅斯“地方合作年”活動，將鼓勵兩國地方根據對等原則互設代表處，雙方歡迎白俄羅斯同中國重慶、青島、天津等地深入開展經貿合作。

Official Opening of the Consulate-General of Belarus on January 28th,20212021年1月28日，白俄羅斯駐重慶總領事館正式開館。

China (Chongqing)-Belarus (Minsk) Business Forum Held in 20192019年，中國重慶市——白俄羅斯明斯克州商務論壇在渝舉行。

Located in the west of the East European Plain,Belarus is a major country along the Belt and Road and an important partner of the China-Europe Railway Express (Chengdu/Chongqing).The cooperation opportunities between the two sides can be attributed to Belarus’s geographic advantages,a solid industry and agriculture foundation,advanced machinery manufacturing,metallurgical processing,machine tools,electronics,and laser technology as well as developed agriculture and animal husbandry.

High-level visits from both sides are frequent.The Ministry of Industry,Ministry of Sports and Tourism,and Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Belarus,Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in China and Minsk Region have organized high-level delegations to visit Chongqing for exchanges and cooperation.Delegations of the Chongqing Municipal Government have also visited Belarus many times for better cooperation and have achieved deliverable results.

Economic and trade cooperation is growing rapidly.Chongqing and Belarus are strategic partners in the construction of China-Europe Railway Express (Chengdu-Chongqing).2011 saw the opening of the direct China-Europe Railway Express (YUXINOU) from Chongqing to Duisburg,Germany,via Belarus.Currently,the direct line from Chongqing to Belarus has been operated in a normalized way.In November 2018,the Chongqing-Belarus Economic and Trade Cooperation Matchmaking Conference and the Signing Ceremony of Cooperation Projects were held in Chongqing.From January to August 2022,the total imports and exports between Chongqing and Belarus increased by 48.5% year-on-year.

People-to-people exchanges are rich and colorful.In 2018,when theChina-Belarus Year of Tourism Promotion Activities was held in Chongqing,activities such as the Belarusian Arts Festival “Kupalinka”cultural performance and Chongqing Residents National Painting Exhibition received great enthusiasm from both sides.In 2022,the Photo Exhibition of the 30thAnniversary of the China-Belarus Diplomatic Relations,and Chongqing-Minsk TV Week were held in Chongqing,showing that cooperation between the two sides in film production,art exchanges,foreign language teaching,etc.is steadily advancing.

近年來，重慶與白俄羅斯高層互訪頻繁，經貿合作增長迅速，人文交流豐富多彩，地方交往成果豐碩。2021年1月，白俄羅斯駐重慶總領事館正式開館，為雙方在經貿、投資及人文領域的交往合作帶來更多助力。

白俄羅斯位于東歐平原西部，是“一帶一路”沿線重要國家，中歐班列（成渝）重要合作伙伴。其區位優勢明顯，工農業基礎較好，機械制造業、冶金加工業、機床、電子及激光技術比較先進，農業和畜牧業較發達，為兩地合作創造了許多機遇。

雙方高層互訪頻繁。白俄羅斯工業部、體育旅游部、農業食品部、駐華大使館和明斯克州等先后組建高級別代表團訪問重慶，商洽合作。重慶市政府代表團多次訪問白俄羅斯推動合作，取得積極成效。

經貿合作增長迅速。重慶與白俄羅斯互為中歐班列（成渝）項目建設戰略合作伙伴。2011年由重慶始發直達德國杜伊斯堡的中歐班列（渝新歐）開通，途經白俄羅斯。目前，重慶——白俄羅斯直達班列已實現常態化開行。2018年11月，重慶——白俄羅斯經貿合作對接洽談會及合作項目簽約在渝舉行。2022年1——8月，重慶與白俄羅斯進出口總額同比增長48.5%。

Sub-national exchanges are fruitful.Chongqing and Minsk Region,Wanzhou District and Kapyl District of Minsk Region have established sister city relations,and Yubei District and Minsk District of Minsk Region have signed a Memorandum of Sister Relationship.The two sister cities have been helping each other in the joint fight against the pandemic and providing mutual assistance in battling COVID-19.They put the concept of a Global Community of Health for All into practice,further advancing friendly relations to a higher level.

人文交流豐富多彩。2018白俄羅斯中國旅游年宣傳推廣活動在重慶舉行，白俄羅斯藝術節“庫帕林卡”文藝演出、重慶居民國畫展等活動，受到市民熱情關注。2022年，中白建交30周年圖片展、重慶——明斯克電視周在重慶舉行，雙方電影制作、藝術交流、外語教學等方面的合作正穩步推進。

地方交往成果豐碩。重慶市與明斯克州、萬州區與明斯克州科佩爾區先后建立友城關系、渝北區與明斯克州明斯克區簽訂了備忘錄。友城雙方在共同抗擊新冠肺炎疫情過程中守望相助，開展了物資互助等抗疫協作，以實際行動踐行人類衛生健康共同體理念，友好關系向更深層次、更高水平發展。

“Kupalinka” National Art Troupe of the Belarusian State Philharmonic Visiting Chongqing During the 2018 Belarusian Cultural Festival2018年白俄羅斯文化節期間，白俄羅斯國家音樂廳“庫帕林卡”民族藝術團訪渝演出。

On February 21st,2020,Chongqing donated the second batch of medical supplies to Belarus.2020年2月21日，重慶向白俄羅斯捐贈醫療物資（第二批）。