Xi says China-Belarus relations to develop healthily, make great strides

Chinese President Xi Jinping said Thursday he believes China-Belarus relations will continue to develop healthily and make great strides under the joint efforts of both countries.

Xi made the remarks when meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in the Kazakh capital Astana.

Congratulating Belarus on officially joining the SCO, Xi noted President Lukashenko paid two visits to China last year, during which the two leaders jointly drew up a new blueprint for the development of the China-Belarus all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership.

This year has witnessed close communication between the two countries at all levels and seen the effective implementation of the consensus reached between both sides, Xi said.

For his part, Lukashenko thanked the Chinese side for supporting Belarus on officially joining the SCO, and congratulated China on taking over the rotating presidency of the SCO.

He also said a special performance by the Guard of Honor of the Chinese People's Liberation Army in Belarus on Wednesday to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the country's liberation was warmly welcomed, and is another demonstration of the close friendship between Belarus and China.

Belarus supports the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative proposed by Xi, as well as the six-point consensus jointly proposed by China and Brazil on finding a political settlement to the Ukraine crisis, Lukashenko said, adding that the Belarusian side looks forward to further strengthening bilateral and multilateral coordination with China.

Xi says China-Belarus relations to develop healthily, make great strides

Xi says China-Belarus relations to develop healthily, make great strides

Xi says China-Belarus relations to develop healthily, make great strides

Xi says China-Belarus relations to develop healthily, make great strides

Xi says China-Belarus relations to develop healthily, make great strides

A school in central China's Hunan Province has been converted into a resettlement center to provide shelter for victims following a dike breach Friday at Dongting Lake, the country's second-largest freshwater lake.

Jiang Siyuan is a teacher at the vocational school in Hunan's Huarong County, where the campus has been turned into a large resettlement center, one of four in the area tasked with taking in people forced out of their homes.

Rather than teaching, Jiang is currently volunteering her services to the displaced people who've moved in.

"Four buildings are taking people in. Our school is mainly taking in those from Tuanbei, the worst-hit village," said Jiang.

Over 1,000 people have checked in at the school. Jiang and other volunteers regularly check in on the victims.

Cai Shusheng and his wife were living in the village right next to the breached dike.

"Our home was affected twice. There was another flood back in 1996 and then again this year. I think the resettlement process is now very good," said Cai.

Jiang said she is staying connected with the victims, noting that her own family was safely situated away from the disaster.

"I don't have family affected by the breach since they're in a different county. But we're all fellow villagers," she said.

School takes in displaced residents after dike breach in central China's Hunan