The SCO is steadily becoming an important force in the global diplomatic stage - Interview with Belarusian President Lukashenko

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said in a written exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency reporters on the eve of the 2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit, the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War that the SCO "is steadily becoming an important force in the global diplomatic stage" and "is a future-oriented organization." Belarus and China made "immeasurable contributions" to the victory of World War II. In today's extremely complex international situation, "it is crucial to jointly protect the memory of our common great victory."

At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Lukashenko will come to China for the 16th time. Lukashenko said that he and President Xi Jinping have known each other for a long time, and President Xi Jinping has strategic thinking and a long-term vision. "In today's completely unpredictable situation, he has a courage to take on leadership responsibilities, which has pointed out a clear and specific development path not only for China, but also for the entire world. Many of his qualities are worth learning: a sense of responsibility for the people, strategic thinking and steel-like will."

Lukashenko said that there is the highest degree of mutual trust and respect between Belarus and China. For Belarus, President Xi Jinping is not only a reliable partner, but also a sincere friend. With the firm support of President Xi Jinping, Belarus-China relations have reached the highest level of an all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership. “In sharp contrast to those who attempt to ‘introduce democracy’ with bombs and sanctions, China shows the world another possibility – to achieve peaceful and stable development on the basis of respect for other countries.”

Lukashenko said this has been more than 30 years since his first visit to China. "China at that time was completely different from now, but at that time I clearly realized that this country has a promising future." Every time I visit China, he not only marveled at China's rapid development and changes, but also admired China's careful protection of its own traditional culture. China's achievements in industrial robot manufacturing, autonomous driving technology research and development, and artificial intelligence development are amazing. China attaches great importance to ecological and environmental protection and innovative development, and has made great efforts to improve people's quality of life in the fields of social livelihood, education and training, and medical care. "Overall, China perfectly demonstrates a vivid example of the booming economic development and humanistic care."

Lukashenko said that Belarus was one of the first countries to participate in the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative. Over the years, the cooperation between Belarus and China has produced fruitful results. He specifically pointed out that the China-Belarus Industrial Park jointly built by the two countries has "been a practical platform that brings together modern manufacturing technology, digital solutions and innovative concepts, is incubating core competitiveness, creating new jobs, and shaping the future blueprint of the national economy."

Lukashenko said that he has "the most optimistic expectations" for the upcoming visit, and believes that this visit will provide new opportunities for deepening the strategic partnership between the two sides, inject new impetus into Belarus-China economic and trade cooperation, and promote the active development of joint projects such as science, technology, and industrial cooperation. "I firmly believe that the cooperation between Belarus and China will continue to deepen. We are jointly promoting major cooperation projects and firmly supporting each other in international occasions. This is a true example of country-to-country exchanges in the 21st century."

Lukashenko said that Belarus is willing to continue to carry out close cooperation with China in several key directions. First, deepen the in-depth docking of the development strategies of the two countries, strengthen cooperation in the fields of digital economy, logistics and transportation, high-tech, etc., and actively explore new paths to expand economic and trade integration. Secondly, continue to improve the intergovernmental cooperation mechanism to improve the efficiency of coordination and implementation of large-scale projects. Third, innovation and technical cooperation. The two sides have successfully jointly organized the "Science and Technology Innovation Year" event and plan to further focus on industrial cooperation. Fourth, continue to expand cultural exchanges and enhance mutual understanding and trust between the two peoples.

Belarus has been a member of the SCO for a year. Lukashenko said the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a future-oriented organization. Over the past 20 years, the SCO has formed a unique regional security and development model through multilateral cooperation. The organization proves that security issues do not need to be confronted, but can be resolved through measures such as intelligence sharing, joint exercises, and trust building among countries. These mechanisms help build a security system that stabilizes Eurasia. The SCO has also signed a number of important conventions and established regional counter-terrorism institutions. After 2020, the SCO has added new directions for cooperation such as cybersecurity, biosecurity and people's health protection.

"It can be said that the SCO is steadily becoming an important force in the global diplomatic stage. The organization has proposed a new paradigm of international relations different from the Western hegemony model, relying on the 'Shanghai Spirit' to ensure equal cooperation and consensus construction. It actively integrates the 'Belt and Road' initiative, builds digital governance guidelines, and creates a dialogue platform for developing countries," Lukashenko said.

He said that the importance of the economic sector in the work of the SCO cannot be ignored, "I can even say that economic cooperation should play a key role." To this end, the SCO needs to establish an efficient local currency settlement mechanism and develop investment infrastructure and logistics systems. Humanities cooperation is showing increasingly important significance. Member countries deepen their interactions in the fields of education, judicial cooperation and social security, and continue to carry forward the "Shanghai Spirit".

"I would like to point out the huge and crucial work that China has done in promoting the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind, which has been integrated into the SCO's cooperation program," Lukashenko said.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. Lukashenko said that the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression is not only an inseparable part of national history, but also an important chapter in the world's anti-fascist war. "As historians, I understand in particular the horrific extent of this war and the immeasurable contributions made by our peoples to the common victory. This is a great lesson about courage, tenacity and patriotism for many generations of our future citizens."

Lukashenko said that the photo exhibition held by Xinhua News Agency in Minsk to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, as well as the China's award of commemorative medals to veteran Belarusian soldiers who have contributed to China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, will help inherit historical memory and become a vivid textbook for youth education. "This is particularly important in today's extremely complex international situation. When some people try to distort and tamper with history, it is crucial to jointly protect the memory of our shared great victory. In the future, Belarus and China will continue to promote the implementation of such joint projects, support the cultural and educational initiative in all aspects, and jointly protect the truth and memory of that war and our victory. Otherwise, the tragedy of history may repeat itself."

At present, the global south is growing in popularity. Lukashenko said: "The global southern countries are independently deciding their development paths based on their own interests. They refuse to automatically agree with other people's decisions, insist on resolving conflicts through peaceful means, advocate equal and openness in the economic field, and advocate all countries to participate in global issues such as climate change. This force is already affecting the international order, and its role will only increase day by day - this is the emerging center of power in the world today."

"We sincerely look forward to continuing to carry out fruitful cooperation with China, for the common prosperity of our two countries and the welfare of the people of both countries," said Lukashenko.