CRI听力:Industrial Park Highlight of Sino-Belarusian Coop

Sitting 25 kilometers from Belarus' capital, the park is nearly 100 square kilometers, located next to Minsk International Airport.

Construction of the park broke ground last year and the project is planned to be finished in three stages within 30 years.

Liu Xuesong, Commercial Counsellor at the Chinese Embassy to Minsk, is upbeat about the future of the park.

"Located in such an important gateway between Europe and Asia, the industrial park has an unmatched geographical advantage. Meanwhile, with a convenient road network and advantages in sci&tech and education, Belarus has been nicknamed the 'processing workshop' since the era of the Soviet Union. All of these ensure a bright prospect for the project."

The park will focus on electronics, biomedicine, chemistry, engineering, and new materials, with the Commonwealth of Independent States and the European Union as its target markets.

It's expected to attract more than 200 high-tech and export-oriented enterprises from around the world and create about 120 thousand jobs.

The park's Deputy General Manager, Kirill Koroteev, says many favorable polices are awaiting the companies that are trying to register as "residents" of the tariff-free park.

"Many preferences have been established by a special Decree of the President. For example, in terms of taxation, companies will be exempt from all corporate taxes for 10 years from the date they register as a 'park resident,' and the effective tax rate will also be reduced by 50 percent for the next 10 years in the park."

Koroteev added that the policies will also cover employees in the park as the rate of personal income tax for them is 30 percent lower than the country's average level. Also, foreign workers will be exempt from compulsory insurance contributions from their wages.

The park is scheduled to receive its first "residents" by the end of next year.

So far, enterprises from China, Russia, Czekh Republic and Germany have applied to enter the park.

ZTE Corporation, China's second largest maker of telecommunications equipment and mobile phones, is among the first companies filing an application.

The company's top representative in Belarus, Tang Luhao, says they are interested in the park's advantages and also its potential.

"The first reason we come here is China's Silk Road initiative that will financially benefit Belarus with preferential loans. It's a big opportunity for us to launch more cooperation with the Belarusian government. Meanwhile, the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan is a reason, too. Its favorable policies will make it easy to promote our products in the region, which has a population of over 200 million."

Counselor Liu Xuesong reveals that more and more Chinese enterprises are showing interest in the Belarusian market as the two sides are working together to upgrade their cooperation.

"From the perspectives of politics, Belarus' industrial capacity, and its investment environment, the Sino-Belarusian cooperation will surely remain vigorous. The two sides have also agreed to upgrade the bilateral economic cooperation with the focus shifting from traditional trade to loans."

Liu says he believes the park will also play an important role in boosting cooperation in service industries on both sides.

For CRI, I'm Luo Wen.