After meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping for three hours at the Diaoyutai Guesthouse in Beijing the morning of June 29, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko visited Beijing University to discuss Chinese-Belarusian collaboration in science, with one subtheme being joint collaboration for developing medicine for the treatment of cancer.
On June 19, Ukrainian strongman Volodymyr Zelensky issued a crude public threat and ultimatum to Belarus, warning that country to dismantle and remove relay stations located on the Belarus border with Ukraine within one week. On June 26, Lukashenko traveled to Moscow for a surprise 5 hour and 22 minute meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. On June 29, Lukashenko held his extended meeting with Xi. The latter meetings, obviously involve strategic matters of import, which the media of Belarus, Russia, and China have not disclosed.
However, this is Lukashenko’s 17th visit to China. When Chinese President Xi greeted Lukashenko at their meeting, he stated, “The China-Belarus relationship has withstood the test of the changing international circumstances. It has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years, and entered its best time in history.” Belarus is a member of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. China and Belarus began jointly constructing the Great Stone Industrial Park near Minsk, Belarus in 2014. The 117 square kilometer (45 square mile) zone hosts 140 resident companies, including major firms like Huawei, and China Merchants Group The Chinese firm Weichai and the Belarusian automaker MAZ run a joint venture factory located there that builds diesel engines for trucks, buses, and heavy equipment.
