MINSK - The Chinese should know that Belarusians are their true friends, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he met with Belarusian Ambassador to China Nikolai Snopkov, BelTA has reported.

The head of state said that China is now experiencing difficulties in part because of coronavirus. "As you can see, they are going through difficult times, and it is not just the virus," the president said. "The world has seen more difficult times. The problem is the inflow of fake news in connection with this coronavirus."

However, despite such difficulties, Belarus remains among the important partners of the People's Republic of China. The high level of cooperation between the two countries must be maintained and developed. "The Chinese should know that Belarusians are resilient, reliable people and true friends," Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed. According to him, the appointment of Nikolai Snopkov as the ambassador was welcomed by the Chinese side.

Nikolai Snopkov, who previously served as deputy head of the President Administration, was appointed Belarus' ambassador to China on Jan 30. Making this appointment, the head of state Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed that he expects a breakthrough in the relations between Belarus and China. "We are increasingly relying on China's help and support. Not only in terms of construction of promising enterprises in our country, loans. China has also given us unrestricted access to their market. Nikolai Snopkov was in charge of this area of work, knows it very well. Frankly, I expect that we will make a real breakthrough during your time there. The result is important," the Belarusian leader said as he appointed ambassadors.

Valery Belsky, who previously worked as director of the Institute of Economics of the National Academy of Sciences, has been appointed deputy head of the President Administration.