Relations between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Belarus: geostrategic aspect

Abstract

The article examines the main vectors of China’s geostrategy in relation to the Republic of Belarus. The leading direction in the Belarusian geostrategy vector of the PRC remains geoeconomic, which includes the following aspects: infrastructural development, economic cooperation, innovative projects, human and cultural exchange. It has been established that since 2022, China-Belarusian relations have moved to the level of «all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership», which consists in the development of cooperation between the countries in various fields in the face of various challenges and threats arising on the way of their development and security. As part of the Chinese geo-economic initiative «One Belt, One Road», the China-Belarus Industrial Park, the Belarusian National Biotechnology Company and an automobile plant have been implemented and are actively operating on the territory of Belarus. A special place is occupied by the China-Belarus Industrial Park, which is invested and managed by China abroad. The industrial park acts as a center of innovation and technological development, attracting more than 120 companies from 15 countries of the world with investments of more than 1.4 billion US dollars. The industries represented in the park include technology research and development, mechanical engineering, e-commerce and communications, logistics, biomedicine, artificial intelligence, 5G network development and other fields. Identified advantages for the People’s Republic of China in the event of the Republic of Belarus joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, namely: promoting China’s interests in its strategic goals in the Eurasian space, strengthening stability and security in the region, ensuring trade, economic and investment ties between the countries. It was concluded that the main vector of China’s geostrategy in relation to Belarus is geoeconomic, which defines various spheres of interaction between China and Belarus. China’s cooperation with Belarus contributes to China’s strategy of strengthening cooperation with the Central and Eastern European regions of the EU within the framework of the «One Belt, One Road» initiative.