Belarus attaches great significance to the relations with China and regards developing such ties as a most important priority of its foreign policy, Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko told reporters Friday.
China, as a great country, has always been Belarus' key partner in trade and economic cooperation, Lukashenko told reporters in Minsk on the eve of his coming visit to Beijing scheduled for April 22-24.
Belarus will learn from China's socio-economic development and successful economic reform, especially the establishment of the market economy without harming state power or the country's macroeconomic control, Lukashenko stressed.
"The main purpose of my upcoming visit is to set the directions of the development of bilateral ties in the 21st century together with Chinese leaders, and to discuss ways to expand bilateral trade and economic cooperation," he said.
The most important event during his trip is to sign with Chinese President Jiang Zemin a joint declaration on the strategic relationship between the two countries in the new century, Lukashenko said.
Expressing confidence that his visit will give a strong push to bilateral ties, he said the two sides will also ink a series of documents on cooperation in the fields of trade, economy, science, technology, military affairs and culture.
(Xinhua 04/22/2001)
