A few days ago, when Iranian President Lech visited China, he signed a series of cooperation documents and returned home with full harvest. At the same time, Belarus, anxious to join the SCO, can't wait. Before his visit to Russia, President Lukashenko of Belarus announced that he would visit China at the beginning of March 2023 and would hold meetings with senior Chinese officials.

Lukashenko will visit China soon

A few days ago, the Iranian President and officials visited China, not only signing 20 bilateral cooperation agreements with China, but also promoting the China Iran the Belt and Road project. The Chinese side has also given strong support to the idea that Iran wants to join the BRICS countries. The Iranian President's visit to China can be said to be fruitful.

As a brother of the same origin with Russia, Belarus also has the same confusion as Iran. At present, the Russian-Uzbekistan conflict, which lasted for one year, still shows no sign of ending. The containment and sanctions imposed by the United States and the West have also affected the neighboring countries friendly to Russia, including Belarus. Inspired by Iran, Lukashenko came up with a solution.

It is worth noting that Lukashenko's visit to China was announced on the occasion of his upcoming visit to Russia. He intends to put them together. Lukashenko may have three considerations.

First of all, under the background of "self care", Russia cannot provide reliable guarantee to Belarus in the economic and security fields. As the "eyesore" of the western countries, Lukashenko must be well prepared in all aspects, and China, whether it is political position, foreign policy or economic and trade cooperation, can become another important grip of Belarus.

Secondly, Lukashenko's attitude towards Russia is both friendly and defensive. The announcement of this news before the visit to Russia also indicated to the United States and the West that in addition to Russia, Belarus also has the friend of China.

Finally, the most important reason for Lukashenko's visit to China is that he can get something from China that Russia can't give: entering Shanghai Cooperation.

Join the SCO

In fact, Lukashenko's trip is also purposeful, and the most important thing is to join the SCO. At present, the sanctions of the United States and the West have tied Russia and Belarus together. If Lukashenko wants to get rid of excessive dependence on Russia and stabilize the situation at home and abroad, he must realize the country's diversified diplomacy. Therefore, for Belarus, SCO is the best choice.

In January 2023, SCO had signed a document with Belarus to determine the relevant procedures for Belarus to join SCO. Not long ago, Lukashenko approved a draft memorandum of understanding again, setting out the obligations to be undertaken by Belarus. At present, Belarus is only one step away from "joining the WTO". Therefore, during this visit to China, White Russia also wants to put "joining the WTO" on the agenda.

Secondly, in the economic field, Lukashenko also saw the potential of cooperation with China. In September 2022, China and Belarus officially upgraded their relationship to "all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership", and the trade volume between the two countries also surged rapidly, directly exceeding 4.5 billion US dollars. Against the background of deepening China-Russia cooperation, Belarus naturally does not want to be left behind.

Finally, China and Belarus can also cooperate on mediation of the Russian-Uzbekistan conflict, promote the two countries to come to the negotiation table as soon as possible, and end the crisis that worries the world. Therefore, no matter in which field, there is a lot of cooperation space between China and Belarus, and the strengthening of bilateral relations can also bring tangible benefits to the two peoples.Editor/Ma Xue