Xi adds Belarusian president to his Ukraine peace plan

Alexander Lukashenkothe president of Belarus, supported during his official trip to China peace plan for ukraine presented Xi Jinping and joins the request for a ceasefire. A picture of the Chinese and Belarusian presidents shaking hands in Beijing shows China’s good relations with one of Vladimir Putin’s main allies. At the same time, the meeting increases differences with the United States and the European Union, which accuse China of a lack of neutrality before the invasion of Ukraine.

Lukashenko backed the peace plan presented by China on Friday, which calls for a ceasefire but does not propose withdrawing troops from Ukrainian soil. Beijing defends the territorial integrity of countries without condemning the invasion. The Belarusian president praised China’s independent policy, saying he shared Xi’s vision of a multipolar world. He also defended should “avoid a global conflict in which there will be no winners”.

For his part, the Chinese president emphasized that the two countries should support each other in order to “protect their own fundamental interests, oppose the interference of external powers in internal affairs, and defend the sovereignty and political security of the two countries.”

Trade agreements

Lukashenko is on a three-day official visit to China to increase trade and investment with the Asian giant. Both countries signed a number of agreements on financing, science and technology, tourism, sports and interregional cooperation.

Belarus is already an important trade partner of China and presents itself as a loyal ally in Central Europe. It was one of the first countries to join the Belt and Road project almost ten years ago. In it in 2022 trade between China and Belarus increased by 33%.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has become a problem for the Belarusian economy, which is highly dependent on Moscow, and therefore needs to increase bilateral trade with Beijing.

At the start of the war, Lukashenko allowed Russian troops to pass through his territory to invade Ukraine and bomb Kiev, a decision that was punished by the US and its allies with economic sanctions. The Lukashenko regime’s relations with the West were already strained after he failed to recognize his victory in the 2020 elections.

As Xi rolls out the red carpet to welcome the Kremlin’s staunch ally, the US keeps up the pressure on China. New reports that the coronavirus accidentally left a Wuhan lab and a ban on TikTok for White House officials have added to warnings about the possibility he could send weapons to Russia this week.

The ban was adopted by the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council of the EU. Washington is even threatening a bill that would ban the popular social network of Chinese origin in the country, arguing that it is a Trojan horse of the Chinese government to spy on Americans.