Leader: Initiative fuels Belarus growth

Belarus will strengthen ties with China, as the Belt and Road Initiative provides a new focus for global economic growth, President Alexander Lukashenko told China Daily in an exclusive interview.

Lukashenko said his participation in the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, which will be held in Beijing on Sunday and Monday, will demonstrate how strongly Belarus values the initiative and that relations between the two countries have reached their highest level ever.

"I will meet and talk with President Xi Jinping about bilateral cooperation as well as international issues," he said, adding that when most countries propose cooperation, they raise a number of political requirements, which can become obstacles to teamwork and development.