By Alperen Aktas and Riyaz ul Khaliq
ISTANBUL (AA) - China’s President Xi Jinping on Wednesday hosted Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko for talks in Beijing, where both leaders agreed to deepen bilateral cooperation.
Lukashenko arrived on a three-day visit to China on Monday night.
Xi said the two countries “are true friends and good partners, treating each other with sincerity and trust,” state-run Xinhua News reported.
“China has always viewed and developed China-Belarus relations from a strategic and a long-term perspective,” he said, adding Beijing was “willing to work with Belarus to promote the steady development of bilateral ties and win-win cooperation.”
Urging more coordination and cooperation within multilateral frameworks such as the UN and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Xi called for “jointly opposing hegemony and bullying, and safeguarding international fairness and justice.”
It was Lukashenko’s 15th visit to China.
Lukashenko told Xi that many countries, including his own, “are looking to China as a pillar of global stability in the face of Western pressure,” according to Belarusian state-run Belta news.
“Today the eyes of many countries, like Belarus, are turned to you — to Beijing,” he told the Chinese president.
Lukashenko emphasized China’s growing role in maintaining the global order, saying China will not allow the world order to be broken. "Many, many nations are convinced of this. The heads of state with whom I have met have told me about this.”