I. Personnel Exchanges
Minsk Oblast, Belarus. (Photo provided to iChongqing)
In recent years, there have been frequent personnel exchanges between Chongqing and Belarus. High-level national and local delegations including the Belarus Embassy to China, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, and the Minsk Oblast have successively visited Chongqing for negotiation and cooperation.
II. Sister-city Relationship
In March 2017, Chongqing established sister-city ties with Minsk Oblast; in November 2018, Wanzhou District of Chongqing established friendly relations with Koper of Minsk Oblast; in December 2018, Chongqing reached a consensus on establishing and developing local friendly and cooperative ties with Vitsebsk City of Vitsebsk Province. In August 2019, the Yubei District of Chongqing established friendly relations with the Minsk District of Minsk Province.
III. Economic and Trade Engagement
In 2020, the total foreign trade volume between Chongqing and Belarus was about 624 million yuan.
As of December 2020, the paid-in investment by Chongqing had reached 900,000 U.S. dollars in the automobile manufacturing industry.
Ⅳ. Key Economic and Trade Cooperation Projects
Since 1993, CETC No.26 Research Institute which owns Chongqing Acoustic-Optic-Electric Co., Ltd., has established a long-term cooperative relationship with Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics. Every year, the two parties send technicians to each other's place to carry out technical exchanges.
In May 2015, Chongqing Zongshen Industrial Group signed a formal joint venture cooperation agreement with two large state-owned enterprises in Belarus, Gomel Agricultural Machine Factory and Minsk Tractor Works.
Chongqing and Belarus are each other's strategic partners for constructing the China Railway Express (Chongqing) Project. In July 2018, the reception ceremony of the Chongqing-Minsk train of China Railway Express was held in Minsk, marking the official launch of the Chongqing-Minsk direct train. In November 2018, the reception ceremony of the Belarus-Chongqing train was held in Chongqing, representing the normal operation of the Chongqing-Belarus direct train.
In January 2018, Belarus's first direct-sale food store, "Varosha" in China, opened in Chongqing.
In November 2018, China-Belarus Agriculture Co., Ltd. and Belarusian Dairy and Meat Products Corporation signed a strategic cooperation agreement with China Trading Co., Ltd., Chongqing Chuanhua Jilian Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd., and Yuxinou (Chongqing) Logistics Co., Ltd.
In July 2018, Chongqing donated motorcycles to the China-Belarus Great Stone Industrial Park for transport security in the park.
The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Chongqing Sub-Council signed an economic and trade cooperation agreement with the Minsk Branch of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Ⅴ. Cultural Exchanges
In June 2002, the Chongqing Municipal Federation of Trade Unions established friendly ties and signed an exchange agreement with the Minsk State Trade Unions. In November 2015, a cultural delegation of Chongqing signed a cooperation agreement with the State Library of Minsk on the building of the library.
In April 2016, the Belarusian Cultural Union and the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus signed a cooperation agreement on cultural and exhibition exchanges with Chongqing Art Museum. In July 2016, 10 famous Belarusian painters visited Chongqing for a two-week collection of folk materials. They held painting exhibitions and donated more than 20 paintings to Chongqing Art Museum. In September 2016, a delegation of Minsk came to Chongqing to participate in the World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) Chongqing Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit 2016. In December 2016, the Chongqing Library set up a "Window of Chongqing" book corner at the Pushkin State Library of Minsk.
In January 2018, the Chongqing-Belarus Tourism Promotion Conference and the opening ceremony of the China-Belarus Tourism Year of 2018 were held in Chongqing. The Chongqing Municipal Commission of Culture and Tourism Development signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Minsk State Bureau of Sports and Tourism. In January 2018, the "Kupalinka" art performance of Belarus Art Festival 2018 and the "Belarus through a Lens" photography exhibition were held in Chongqing. On February 24, 2018, the Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of Chongqing Municipal People's Government, in cooperation with the Belarusian Embassy in China, simultaneously carried out promotion in Jiefangbei, Chongqing, and the Minsk National Library. On July 14, 2018, the Chongqing Culture and Tourism Day 2018 and Chongqing Folk House Chinese Painting Exhibition kicked off in Minsk. On November 9, 2018, the Belarusian Culture and Tourism Center was established in Chongqing. On December 23, 2018, the Chongqing Culture and Tourism Promotion Center was established in Minsk. On January 27, 2020, Ambassador of Belarus to China, Senko Yury, attended the inauguration ceremony of the Consulate General of Belarus in Chongqing.
Chongqing has been studying the history and culture of Belarus for many years and has participated in the writing and publication of three books, respectively, Belarus in the Eyes of Chinese People, Belarus in the Eyes of Chinese Diplomats, and We and You: Stories Between China and Belarus.
Cooperation Against Epidemics
Early last year, the Minsk city government and the Belarusian Culture and Tourism Promotion Center donated two batches of medical supplies to Chongqing successively. In April 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic spread around the world quickly, the number of confirmed cases in Belarus had rocketed. To support the Belarusian government and people to combat the pandemic, Chongqing Municipal People's Government had donated a batch of supplies to Belarus.