Lukashenko’s visit to Beijing: Belarus becomes a platform for projecting China’s influence in Europe

On June 4, 2025, self-proclaimed President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko made his 15th official visit to Beijing. During the visit, he held closed-door talks with Xi Jinping and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, resulting in China reaffirming Lukashenko’s “legitimacy” and emphasizing continued multifaceted cooperation.

This includes, notably, Beijing’s commitment to accelerate the modernization of the Belarusian economy using “Chinese technologies” and Minsk’s pledge to incorporate China’s agenda into its industrial “five-year plan” for 2025–2030. Other details of the agreements were not disclosed.

It was previously expected that Lukashenko would visit Beijing in early January 2025, before Belarus’s presidential “elections.” However, that trip was canceled without official notice.