Belarus Seeks Stronger Ties with China Amid Western Sanctions

Leaders discuss strengthening political trust and international coordination, with Belarus aiming to become a core member of China's Belt and Road Initiative.

• Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, discussing strengthened political mutual trust and international coordination.
• China has sought to make Belarus a core member of its Belt and Road Initiative, despite the heavily state-controlled economy of Belarus dimming possibilities for major economic cooperation.
• China opposes external interference in Belarus' internal affairs, reflecting China's unofficial alliance with authoritarian states in opposition to the U.S.-led liberal democratic global order.
• Belarus has been implicated in Russia's systematic effort to identify, collect, transport, and re-educate Ukraine's children during the war, with more than 2,400 Ukrainian children taken to Belarus from Russia-occupied parts of Ukraine.
• Despite Western sanctions, Belarus seeks to strengthen its economic ties with China, with Lukashenko highlighting the potential to grow commercial ties and quicken the pace of cooperation.

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