A seminar was recently held in Minsk, capital of Belarus, under the theme of “China and Belarus: Forge Ahead Together in the ‘Belt and Road’ Construction.” At the seminar, Belarusian scholars spoke highly of the Belt and Road (B&R) initiative, China’s development experience and its implications, Chinese state governance, social governance and targeted poverty alleviation.

They reached an agreement that China’s development experience can provide valuable lessons for Belarus, adding that the results China has achieved are indicative of fresh ideas and paths that could help the majority of developing nations explore development paths suited to their own conditions and realize modernization.

Anatoly Arkadyevich Lazarevich, director of the Institute of Philosophy at the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (NASB), said that the B&R initiative is precious in that it presents mutually beneficial development opportunities for countries still mired in the world economic crisis, offering a way for them to shake off the impact of the crisis. No initiative adheres so closely to the principle of mutual benefits as the B&R.

The construction of the China-Belarus Industrial Park has provided the Belarusian people with important development opportunities, Lazarevich said. Studying China and learning from its development experience has become broadly favored by Belarusian academia and society. China and Belarus are good friends on an equal footing, he said.

The Chinese wisdom contained in the B&R initiative provides new opportunities for social development and building better living conditions for people along the routes. Young people will learn new skills, infrastructure will be improved, and the economy will develop, said Natalia Kutuzova, head of the Center for the Study of Globalization, Integration and Socio-Cultural Cooperation at the NASB.

Noting that the B&R initiative has sparked a new impetus for growth in a new round of globalization, Kutuzova said it is as significant as the ancient Silk Road, symbolizing friendship, cooperation and peace.

Smolyakov Dmitry, a senior research fellow at the NASB who has long engaged in academic exchanges with China, pointed out that Chinese state governance is grounded in the country’s national conditions and always puts people first when seeking development. China provides new ideas for countries around the world to help people develop and rid themselves of poverty, solve difficulties in social development, and improve their governance level and capacity.

Attaching importance to state governance and the modernization of social governance is not particular to China in its current development stage. State governance and the modernization of social governance also pose challenges that countries around the world need to tackle together in this era. In this light, China has offered its wisdom regarding how to govern the state and society, Dmitry said.

Scholars at the seminar said that people-to-people bonds in the B&R initiative have far-reaching implications for friendly exchanges between the Chinese and Belarusian peoples. The development of China has presented opportunities for the world, while China’s practical experience has provided solutions to similar development problems facing other countries.

The seminar was co-sponsored by the National Institute of Social Development at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and the NASB. At the seminar, a bilingual book in Chinese and English titled China and Belarus: Forge Ahead Together in the ‘Belt and Road’ Construction was released. Jointly compiled by scholars of CASS and the NASB, the book was published by Chinese Social Sciences Press under CASS.

The book centers on the relationships of the B&R initiative with social development, the mutual benefits shared by China and Belarus, the people’s prospects for a good life, pragmatic cooperation, and people-to-people bonds. It offers a panoramic view of how the Chinese and Belarusian peoples can forge head together in the construction of the initiative and provides firsthand materials for Belarusian society to learn more about China. It has exerted extensive influence in Belarusian academia.

(Edited and Translated by Chen Mirong)