Chinese President Xi Jinping holds talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 1, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BEIJING – Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Beijing on Wednesday.

Xi said in Samarkand in September last year, he and Lukashenko jointly announced upgrading bilateral relations to an all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership, injecting strong impetus into bilateral cooperation in various fields.

For China, this year marks the beginning of the full implementation of the guiding principles laid down at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. China's high-quality development and modernization process will bring new opportunities to other countries including Belarus, Xi said.

Hailing the unbreakable China-Belarus friendship, Xi stressed that the two sides should further enhance political mutual trust and remain each other's good friends and partners.

He said China highly appreciates Belarus's firm support for China's justified position on issues related to Taiwan, Xinjiang and Hong Kong, and on human rights.

The two sides should firmly support each other's choice of development path, support each other in safeguarding respective core interests, oppose external interference in internal affairs, and protect their sovereignty and political security, Xi said.

The two presidents agreed to expand economic and trade cooperation, do a good job in building the China-Belarus Industrial Park, and focus on the joint building of the Belt and Road to advance cooperation in connectivity projects such as the China-Europe Railway Express service.