Representatives of China and Belarus pose for a group photo at the projects signing ceremony held on Feb 9 in Beijing. [Photo/sinomach.com.cn]

The Great Stone China-Belarus Industrial Park, contracted by Sinomach, held an online signing ceremony on Feb 9 in Beijing and Belarus’ capital Minsk to mark new elements of the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) industry taking up residence at the park.

Zhang Xiaolun, chairman of Sinomach; Xie Xiaoyong, Chinese Ambassador to Belarus; and Yuri Senko, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to China, attended the event held in Beijing.

TCM is an important area of exchanges and cooperation between China and Belarus, and a closer tie between the two sides in the sector will significantly benefit people’s livelihoods.

The new TCM elements of the park include an exchange center, a traditional medical treatment center and medical technology companies.

It is the first non-Belarusian project to be introduced to the park in 2021, and fills a vacancy of the park in the TCM industry. It will also help promote the “Health Silk Road” construction and the building of a global community of health for all.

Zhang said that the signing of a cooperation agreement on TCM projects will accelerate industrialization, modernization and internationalization in the sector and the projects’ arrival conforms to the park’s development concept of “industrialization, internationalization, digitalization and ecology”.

Sinomach will try its best to foster the TCM industry in the park, and will play a bigger role in helping Belarus fight against the COVID-19 pandemic as soon as possible, intensifying China-Belarus cooperation in medical treatment and public health and creating more benefits for people of all countries, Zhang said.

Xie indicated that the China-Belarus Industrial Park has become a landmark of the two countries’ participation in the Belt and Road Initiative, and the park has ushered in high-quality development.

Xie also underscored that the entry of the TCM industry into the park will definitely exert a positive effect on the expansion of its industrial clusters and inject new impetus into practical cooperation between China and Belarus in the field of health care.

Given the deep-rooted Chinese cultural traits of TCM, the cooperation of the two sides will facilitate their cultural exchanges and mutual learning, enhance people-to-people communication, and contribute more to the joint construction of a global community of health for all, he said.

Sinomach Chairman Zhang Xiaolun (R) meets with Belarusian Ambassador to China Yuri Senko on Feb 9 at the company’s headquarters in Beijing. [Photo/sinomach.com.cn]

Prior to the signing ceremony, Zhang met with the Belarusian Ambassador to China Yuri Senko. In their talks, the two sides focused on stepping up the high-quality development of the China-Belarus Industrial Park, the introduction of TCM industry, and the business development of Sinomach in Belarus.

Senko expressed gratitude to the Chinese government and enterprises for their ongoing support of Belarus during the pandemic period, highlighting that Sinomach was the first to lend a helping hand.

He said that Sinomach, the largest shareholder of the China-Belarus Industrial Park, has made outstanding contributions to its development, and added that the new residents have opened a new frontier for the park and Belarus will give the necessary support to ensure smooth progress.

Senko said he also hoped that Belarus will seek more potential cooperation with Sinomach and both sides will develop more extensive and mutually beneficial cooperation.

Noting that the China-Belarus Industrial Park is a key project followed closely by the presidents of the two countries, Zhang said that Sinomach will continue to promote more industries to settle in the park and help it realize long-term and healthy development.

He indicated that the company will actively contribute to the construction and operation of the TCM projects in the park, hoping that the Belarusian side will give counter-support to the company’s projects in Belarus.

Zhang also highlighted that he believes that the China-Belarus economic and trade exchanges will be further deepened with the help of Ambassador Senko.