China Discusses Polish Border Closure With Belarus in Trade Hit
A sign reads "Republic of Poland" at the border crossing of the Polish-Belarusian country border with barbed wire and a fence in Polowce-Pieszczatka, Poland on July 21.
Photographer: Wojtek Radwanski/AFP/Getty ImagesA senior Chinese official held talks with Belarus’s president to discuss Poland’s decision to shut its eastern border with the Russian-aligned former Soviet republic, cutting off a crucial trade route for goods from China.
Li Xi, a Politburo member who serves as China’s anti-corruption chief, met with Alexander Lukashenko on Monday in Minsk. The Belarusian leader, a staunch ally of Vladimir Putin as well as Beijing, signaled that he would inform Li about the border closure as he blamed Poland, according to his official website.