President Xi Jinping, second left, awards a medal to a Belarussian World War II veteran during an award ceremony at the Museum of the Great Patriotic War in Minsk, on May 11, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

China has become Belarus' largest trade partner in the Asia-Pacific region, with bilateral trade up 27.3 percent to $4 billion last year in defiance of a weak global economy.

Xi and Lukashenko spoke of their determination to make a jointly developed industrial park a flagship and landmark part of the Silk Road Economic Belt that will connect Asia and Europe.

The 90-square-kilometer high-tech park beside Minsk airport, focusing on high-end manufacturing, chemicals, electronics, information, new materials, bio-tech engineering and logistics, will be open to investors globally, offering preferential policies such as tax breaks and one-stop registration services.

Given its geographic position at the center of Eurasia, Belarus will offer Chinese investors a bridge to both the Eurasia region and the European market, Lukashenko said.

Sun Zhuangzhi, a Russian and Central Asian studies researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said enhanced teamwork arising from the development of the economic belt will give China "better access to the unique geographic strength of Belarus".

Sun noted that Belarus is "geographically close to both the European Union and members of the Commonwealth of Independent States".

Through stronger collaboration with Belarus, China will find it easier to deliver commodities to the member countries of the two regions, Sun said.

On Belarus' side, greater cooperation with China will boost its economy and help it to avoid isolation, he added.

Contact the writers at xingzhigang@chinadaily.com.cn and zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn