MINSK, 13 April (BelTA) – Cooperation between Belarus and Hunan Province should become an example of interaction for other regions of China, too. The statement was made by Du Jiahao, Secretary of the Hunan Province Committee of the Communist Party of China, as he met with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko on 13 April, BelTA has learned.

Du Jiahao thanked the Belarusian head of state for the opportunity to meet with him and to discuss matters concerning the development of mutually beneficial cooperation.

In his words, Belarus is the key friend of China and Hunan Province. The Chinese politician said he believes that the personal friendship between Alexander Lukashenko and China President Xi Jinping has created a solid foundation for Belarus-China cooperation.

Du Jiahao described Xi Jinping's visit to Belarus in 2015 as very important. Important agreements were reached and the strategy to guide the future development of Belarusian-Chinese relations was formulated during the visit. Among other things the Chinese initiative One Belt, One Road was discussed back then. The initiative gives a chance for deeper and more fruitful cooperation between the Republic of Belarus and the People's Republic of China.

The Chinese politician also spoke about the importance of Hunan Province in the People's Republic of China. The province is home to about 70 million people and boasts the country's ninth largest GDP volume.

“Apart from that, Hunan is the birthplace of Mao Zedong, who has created the new China. It is also the place where many Chinese top-ranking officials were born,” said Du Jiahao.

Du Jiahao said he was confident that Belarusian-Chinese cooperation has great prospects.