Belarus’ Brest Oblast eyes lifting equipment production with Chinese partners

Brest Oblast of Belarus is considering the possibility of setting up, together with Chinese partners, a production facility for lifting and transport equipment, Brest Oblast Governor Piotr Parkhomchik said at talks with the leadership of China’s Anhui Province, BelTA has learned.

Brest Oblast has maintained friendly relations with Anhui Province since September 2017. The strengthening of interregional ties is facilitated by the twinning of Brest and Hefei, and of Bereza District and Bengbu. “The leadership of the administration of the Brest free economic zone is also interested in intensifying further interaction with the high-tech zone of the city of Bengbu. Given the memorandum of cooperation previously signed between these territories, today there is a good opportunity to continue contacts. During the current visit, it is planned to sign a roadmap for further cooperation,” Piotr Parkhomchik said.

The parties cooperate in the trade, economic, investment and humanitarian sectors. Thus, foreign trade between Brest Oblast and China has grown severalfold in recent years, and in January-August 2026 it increased by 20.3%. Representatives of Chinese business have invested about $250 million in the economy of Brest Oblast in recent years. The largest and most significant projects for the region are implemented precisely with representatives of business circles from Anhui Province.

In particular, a joint project has been implemented with a household appliance manufacturing company. An enterprise producing refrigerators operates in Brest Oblast, and production volumes are growing. “During our latest meeting, we signed a memorandum on cooperation for 2027, which envisages even more ambitious production volumes. Another important project is on our cooperation agenda - the assembly of light-duty trucks in Brest together with a Chinese company. The topic is highly relevant for Belarus. This commercial transport has become widespread both in our country and in neighboring states,” the Brest Oblast governor said.

The day before, the partners signed a cooperation plan for next year. The production and sale of around 200 units of machinery is envisaged. The possibility of switching to small-knock-down assembly with an increase in the share of localization of production in Brest Oblast is worked out. The possibility of organizing serial production of pickups with an open cargo bed is also being studied.

Brest Oblast is also interested in cooperation with another large enterprise in Anhui Province - a manufacturer of warehouse equipment. The Belarusian delegation held a meeting with representatives of the company. “We are considering the possibility of implementing a project to create a production facility for lifting and transport equipment in Brest Oblast: from creating a joint venture to building our own company with a full range of services,” Piotr Parkhomchik shared the plans.

He expressed confidence that the meetings during the current visit would yield a positive result. “We are sincerely interested in further expanding trade, economic and investment cooperation with Anhui Province, deepening interregional interaction and socio-cultural ties,” the Brest Oblast governor added.