"Lukashenko And Officials' Statements About China Are A Joke"

Cooperation with China in its current form is a step backward.

On the program at BRC, analyst Sergei Chaly commented on the Belarusian leader’s recent visit to China.

First Deputy Prime Minister Nikolai Snopkov, speaking about the meeting between Alexander Lukashenko and Xi Jinping, spoke of “Belarus’s technological self-sufficiency” and, at the same time, the need for industrial cooperation between the two countries in 11 technological areas:

— We want to jointly produce (industrial goods—ed.) based on these technologies with our Chinese partners. This is very important to us, and deepening, expanding, and developing this cooperation will undoubtedly provide a powerful boost to the country’s economic growth.

Chaly noted:

— He (Snopkov—ed.) has the nerve to say that this is Belarus’s technological self-sufficiency… A mere 11 technologies will save this “giant of thought”… No, this will not provide any impetus to the country’s economic growth. It means condemning ourselves to decline, even if you possess these (Chinese—ed.) technologies. But you will be competing with the primary holders of these technologies.

Chaly also drew attention to Snopkov’s remarks that Belarus is a “pearl on the Chinese Silk Road.” The economist called this statement a “joke.”

— Strictly speaking, there is no real economic cooperation or technological collaboration. There have already been several directives from Lukashenko regarding cooperation with China. And all of them stated that it was high time to shift the focus of cooperation from trade to investment. But this led nowhere. Aside from the fact that we purchase technology—which anyone can do.

China’s interest lay in transit and the industrial park. But as soon as the rail routes began to be blocked (toward Poland—ed.), a project for an alternative route was revived (the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, which connects China with Europe via Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey—ed.). This route is complex and long, but China is diversifying its risks,” Chaly said.

He recalled a previous observation that “the entire Belarusian economy is beginning to turn into an assembly plant using Chinese components and Chinese technologies”:

— And we’ve spoken about this as an unappealing future for Belarus. Because you’ll have to compete on the basis of labor costs. And that’s especially difficult to do given that we all understand: industrial production in China today is a heavily subsidized sector. And that is its main competitive advantage,” Chaly noted.

The economist drew attention to a report on how the production of Chinese “Midea” refrigerators operates in Baranovichi.

“Doing the same thing China does—using the same components and the same technologies—but doing it somewhere else (not in China—ed.) means condemning yourself to very low wages. “Because you’ll be competing directly with China and with products made in China,” the economist noted.

Chaly is surprised that the authorities “don’t consider this a problem.” In China, Lukashenko stated that Belarus uses Chinese technology “in all areas” of economic development.

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