China defence chief Li Shangfu hails ‘fraternal relations’ in Belarus trip, marking first visit since Russia invaded Ukraine
- Closer military cooperation between Beijing and Minsk a focus of Li’s trip and economic ties also celebrated
- China’s relations with Russia and Belarus have grown stronger since the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Li told defence chief Viktor Khrenin that cooperation between the two countries was “steadily developing and moving forward”, according to the state-owned Belarusian Telegraph Agency (BelTA).
“[In recent years] the relations between Belarus and China have been continuously strengthening, steadily developing and moving forward,” Li said, in his second meeting with Khrenin this year.
“Last year we received a new status of our relations – it is an all-weather and comprehensive strategic partnership. This shows that now we have truly fraternal relations.”
Beijing has not yet published a readout of the meeting, which followed discussions between Li and Khrenin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) defence ministers’ meeting in April in New Delhi.
According to BelTA, Li is expected to discuss bilateral military cooperation in areas of mutual interest during his visit, which will include tours of a number of defence facilities.
Li arrived in Minsk a day after attending the Moscow Conference on International Security in Russia, where he said Beijing would strengthen military cooperation with the SCO – an economic and security group led by China and Russia – and Belarus.
The eastern European country is expected to officially join the SCO by next year. Iran is the most recent member of the grouping, which includes the Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, as well as India and Pakistan.
Li’s visit to Belarus is the first by a Chinese defence minister since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, an action supported by Minsk, which has also allowed Russian troops to pass through its territory on their way to the conflict.
Belarus came under renewed international scrutiny earlier this year when Moscow announced plans to deploy nuclear strategic weapons within its western neighbour’s borders.
There was further alarm when Wagner mercenaries were allowed into Belarus as part of a deal to end their mutiny in Russia in June.
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The last Chinese defence chief to visit Belarus was Wei Fenghe, who met President Alexander Lukashenko in April 2018.
In his meeting with Khrenin on Wednesday, Li said China was Belarus’ second-biggest trade partner. Bilateral trade grew more than 30 per cent last year, he said, adding that volume between the two countries also showed “very good growth” in January-May this year.
Khrenin said relations between China and Belarus had reached an “unprecedented” level of military cooperation, an area that the two countries “have the ability and desire to expand”.
“China is a friendly state to Belarus, whose authority has been growing in the international arena. Over 31 years of diplomatic relations, our countries have reached an unprecedentedly high level of cooperation,” he said.
“Despite the external factors, the all-weather nature of relations enables us to move towards a community of shared interests and shared destiny.”
Li’s visit to Belarus highlights the increasing military ties between China and the authoritarian states in eastern Europe, both isolated by Western-led sanctions against Russia’s war in Ukraine and Minsk’s cooperation with Moscow.
While China seeks to play a peacemaker role in the war in Ukraine, its recent military and diplomatic activities have shown that its ties with Russia and its allies are increasing.
Last month, China and Russia held joint military drills in the Sea of Japan, or East Sea, which focused on “maintaining the security of strategic maritime corridors”, according to the Chinese defence ministry.
And last week, in a phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi said the two countries “should continue to maintain close strategic coordination”.
