China’s top defense official visited Belarus last week and praised the countries’ “truly fraternal relations” as the Ukraine War continues to set the stage for WWIII becoming official.

The matchup would be the U.S. and NATO against Russia, Iran, China, and Belarus. And the result will be nuclear annihilation.

Gen. Li Shangfu, the Chinese defense minister, told his Belarusian counterpart Viktor Khrenin that cooperation between the two countries was “steadily developing and moving forward,” The South China Morning Post reported, citing Belarusian news outlets.  

“Last year we received a new status of our relations—it is an all-weather and comprehensive strategic partnership. This shows that now we have truly fraternal relations,” Li said. 

TRENDPOST: Li also met with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, who has been emerging as a key ally for Russian President Vladimir Putin as the Ukraine War drags on. (See “POLAND TO SEND UP TO 10,000 SOLDIERS TO BORDER WITH BELARUS AMID RELOCATION OF WAGNER FORCES” 15 Aug 2023 and “WWIII: BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT ECHOES OUR FORECAST OF NUCLEAR WAR” 4 Apr 2023.)

“The purpose of my visit to Belarus is precisely the implementation of important agreements at the level of heads of state and the further strengthening of bilateral military cooperation,” Li said.

Lukashenko played the part of welcoming host and assured Li that Belarus is an “absolute supporter of a multipolar world.”

“We stay committed to non-interference in the internal affairs of states. In short, the whole power on which China’s foreign policy is based is similar to ours,” he said, according to The Global Times, the Chinese state newspaper. “You should know that for more than 30 years we have always supported China in all its aspirations, because we consider the domestic and foreign policy of the People’s Republic of China absolutely fair, and aim at peaceful resolution of any disputes and conflicts.”

The paper, citing the Chinese Minister of National Defense, reported that China is Belarus’s second-largest trading partner and, in 2022, trade grew more than 30 percent. 

TRENDPOST: China has angered the U.S. because it has refused to publicly condemn Moscow over its decision to invade Ukraine. While Beijing has taken a neutral stance on the conflict, we have noted that China does not want to see Russia lose because it is resisting United States economic and geopolitical hegemony. And, should Russia lose its fight against Ukraine, it would be a major victory for the U.S. that could carry over to the Taiwan issue. (See “U.S. WEAPONIZES THE WORLD: BIDEN ANNOUNCES ANOTHER $345 MILLION IN MILITARY AID FOR TAIWAN, WITH CHINA IN FOCUS,” 1 Aug 2023.)

But the visit clearly shows the continued unification of world powers who no longer find a unipolar world with the U.S. setting policy as acceptable. (See “MAJORITY OF CITIZENS ACROSS WEST ASIA AND NORTH AFRICA DECRY U.S. INTENTIONS,” 18 Apr 2023.)

Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the paper that Europe is currently “strategically imbalanced.”

“The U.S.-led West is attempting to achieve an imbalanced strategic pattern that only benefits itself,” the professor said. “Against this backdrop, it is quite urgent and necessary for non-Western countries to strengthen their connections and cooperation at the strategic level, ensuring global strategic stability and balance to ensure that different civilizations, political and social systems around the world can pursue their common goal of development.”

It is worth noting that while Belarus looks to do more business with China, most European countries are looking to “de-risk.” (See “G7 MEETING FOCUSES ON WEST’S BALANCING ACT TO ‘DE-RISK,’ NOT ‘DECOUPLE’ FROM CHINA,” 23 May 2023.)

Putin Achieved Goals in Ukraine, Lukashenko Says

The Belarusian leader told reporters last week that he believes now would be a good time for negotiations to take place in Ukraine because Russian President Vladimir Putin has achieved his objectives. 

“Its [Russia’s] goals have already been fulfilled to date,” he said. “Ukraine will never behave so aggressively towards Russia after the end of this war, as it did before the war,” Lukashenko said, according to Al Jazeera.

“Negotiations should begin without preconditions. This is a classic of any diplomacy. I think so. We need to sit down at the negotiating table and discuss everything. And Crimea, Kherson, Zaporizhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk. Everything there needs to be discussed,” he said.

Geng Shuang, Beijing’s deputy permanent representative at the UN, told the Security Council last week that more weapons for Ukraine from the West “cannot win peace.”

“Weapons may be used to win the war, but they cannot win peace,” he said. “Currently, the massive influx of weapons and equipment to the battlefield persists with an expanding spillover effect, making the hope of ceasing hostilities more remote.”