Vitebsk region expands its network of partner regions in the Celestial Empire

During the negotiations, the parties noted the mutual interest in building full-scale relations between the two regions. The first official high-level visit and the signed document give the green light for establishing contacts and building partnerships in all areas, noted Oleg Matskevich, First Deputy Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee.

– For successful interregional cooperation, it is necessary to simultaneously develop friendship between people and economic cooperation, because it is through friendly ties that the desire to jointly implement production projects arises, – said Yao Zengke, Chairman of the People's Political Consultative Council of Jiangxi Province, emphasizing that personal relationships also help overcome existing barriers.

According to Oleg Matskevich, the most promising area of cooperation between Vitebsk region and Jiangxi could be agriculture, in particular, cooperation in flax cultivation, both in terms of growing raw materials and producing finished products. Vitebsk food producers are interested in promoting their products to the Celestial Empire market, including through Chinese shopping centers operating in Jiangxi Province. The production of building materials is also on the agenda of promising negotiations between potential partners, considering the availability of clay reserves in the Vitebsk region and technologies on the Chinese side, where the most important industry historically is the production of ceramics and porcelain. It is expected that these areas will be the subject of negotiations during the visit of the Belarusian delegation to Jiangxi Province in the second half of the current year to participate in a major international economic exhibition.

In the humanitarian sphere, it may concern tourist exchanges, as the partners have numerous historical monuments and a developed leisure industry. The Chinese side is ready to provide scholarships for studying at one of the educational institutions in the province.

– It is very important to be sincere in relationships. This quality acts like a sharp knife that puts everything in its place, – Mr. Zengke wisely remarked in an Asian manner.

Jiangxi Province, with an area of about 166 thousand sq. m and a population of almost 46 million people, is located in the eastern part of China. It is rich in natural resources; metallurgy, agriculture, and forestry play an important role in the region's industrial development.

SERGEY ANTONOV, photos by Dmitry OSIPOV, "Vitebskiye vesti".