Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko arrives in Beijing on Tuesday, part of an effort by countries like Russia, China and Iran to show unity.
It also comes just days after China’s release of a 12-point proposal for ending hostilities in Ukraine, part of a lukewarm diplomatic effort by Beijing to position itself as a mediator.
China has positioned itself as a potential broker of peace between Russia and Ukraine, and as acting in direct contrast with the United States, which Beijing has framed as an agent of global instability for supporting Ukraine. In an interview with Chinese state news agency Xinhua the day before the meeting, Lukashenko praised China’s investments in Belarus and talked up Beijing’s position on the world stage.“Any international issue cannot be solved without China, and China has become a world power with independent global policies,” Lukashenko reportedly told Xinhua. “Whoever wants to contain and prevent the development of today’s China will not be able to succeed.
The meeting between Xi and Lukashenko is likely to focus on their bilateral relationship, Li said, which the two sides agreed to intensify in September at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Samarkand, building on several years of annual visits by Lukashenko to China before the pandemic. Closer ties to Belarus could also boost China’s position as a powerful country in the eyes of those that have been historically in Russia’s sphere of influence. “China always looks at these peripheral countries and understands their strategic importance,” said Theresa Fallon, director of the Center for Russia Europe Asia Studies in Brussels.“China is wise enough to understand their value,” Fallon said. “And Lukashenko is wily enough to try to balance these two powers.
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