Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange (BUCE) and China Merchants CHN-BLR Commerce and Logistics Company (CMCB), which is part of the China Merchants Group Corporation, have signed a memorandum of cooperation. On behalf of BUCE, the document was signed by Chairman of the Board Alexander Osmolovsky, and on behalf of CMCB – by General Director Mr. Zhang Zhenyong. The signing ceremony was held remotely by means of a videoconferencing app.

According to the memorandum, BUCE and CMCB plan to develop cooperation in transport and trade logistics, including through the implementation of joint investment projects that contribute to the intensification of mutual trade between the Republic of Belarus and the People's Republic of China.

At the same time, according to Alexander Osmolovsky, now that the partnership relations of the parties have been formalized legally, it is necessary to concretize the agreements reached as soon as possible and translate them into the practical plane. 

“Logistics certainly plays a key role in the development of exchange trade between Belarus and China. After all, an extensive logistics infrastructure and well-established transport links are the basic condition for the operation of the Belarusian-Chinese exchange commodity market. Therefore, only through the synergy of electronic exchange trading technologies and your company’s extensive logistics capabilities of your company shall we be able to unlock the potential of bilateral cooperation to the fullest. In this regard, I would like the memorandum we signed today to become not just a declaration of intent, but a legal basis for a long-term strategic partnership that will allow us to really help Belarusian and Chinese enterprises trade with each other, thereby increasing the trade turnover between our countries and ensuring sustainable growth of economic indicators,” emphasized BUCE’s Chairman of the Board. 

In turn, Mr. Zhang Zhenyong, General Director of the Chinese company, stressed the complementary nature of the services provided by CMCB and BUCE and expressed confidence that the union of one of the leading commodity exchanges in the European region and such a large logistics operator as China Merchants will give a new impetus to development trade and economic relations between Belarus and China. 

“Given the current situation in the world, I am deeply convinced that by joining forces we will be able to offer market participants the best trading and logistics solutions and services. Nonetheless, the main goal of our cooperation is to connect Chinese and Belarusian companies through efficient transport and logistics corridors that will allow us to deliver Belarusian goods to China and Chinese goods to Belarus as quickly and efficiently as possible,” the Chinese businessman said. 

Following the negotiations that took place after the solemn part of the event, BUCE and CMCB agreed to hold in the nearest future the first meeting of the joint working group in order to draw up a concrete plan of actions aimed at implementing the main provisions of the memorandum of cooperation.