Promoting relations with China is one of Belarus' diplomatic priorities,
Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergei Martynov said Monday.
A degree of political trust between Belarus and China and wide-ranging
consensus on major international issues have formed the basis for developing
constructive friendly ties between the two countries, Martynov told Xinhua in an
interview.
Since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1992, marked
progress has been made in bilateral cooperation in politics, economy, trade,
science, culture and education, the minister said.
Two-way trade reached nearly 460 million US dollars in 2004, doubling the
figure of 2003, he said.
Belarus and China share identical or similar positions on many major
international issues such as Iraq, Martynov said. He also thanked China for its
support at the UN human rights conference last month.
Belarus is one of the few former Soviet Union republics which maintain
political and social stability and are free from ethnic and religious conflicts
or territorial disputes, he said, adding that the country's economy has also
witnessed a sustained growth.
On relations with Russia, he said their relationship is one of the strategic
partnership, with building a confederation as the key part of bilateral
cooperation. But the integration process must be expanding on an equal footing
without impairing each other's national sovereignty and independence.
He also said Belarus is willing to develop friendly relations with all
countries including the United States and the European Union (EU) on the basis
of equality and mutual respect.
The Untied States is Belarus' largest investor, while the EU isone of its
main trade partners, he said.