Chinese President Xi hosts Belarusian counterpart Lukashenko in Beijing

China’s President Xi Jinping hosted Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko in Beijing on Monday, state media reported.

Xi received Lukashenko at the Diaoyutai state guesthouse, broadcaster CGTN reported, without immediately providing further detail.

Lukashenko’s visit to China comes after he held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week at the latter’s Valdai residence in northwestern Russia.

It is Lukashenko’s second trip to Beijing since last September, when he attended a Chinese military parade as well as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in the northern city of Tianjin.

China and Belarus share “all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership” and the bilateral trade volume reached $8.86 billion last year.