Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko has told Chinese President Xi Jinping that his country “fully supports” Beijing’s proposals for ending the Ukraine war.
Mr Lukashenko – a close ally of Vladimir Putin – is on a state visit to the Chinese capital.
The meeting between the two leaders comes after China announced a plan calling for peace talks last week.
The visit also comes days after China sent its top diplomat Wang Yi to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Mr Lukashenko has aided the Russian leader in his war in Ukraine, and his trip to Beijing is another sign of China closing ranks with Russia and its allies.
The Belarus leader praised China’s peace plan, which calls for peace talks and respect for national sovereignty.
The 12-point document does not specifically say that Russia must withdraw its troops from Ukraine, and it also condemns the usage of “unilateral sanctions”, in what is seen as a veiled criticism of Ukraine’s allies in the West.
Mr Lukashenko said he “fully supports the initiative on international security you have put forward”, according to remarks released by his aides.
Political decisions “should be aimed at first and foremost preventing a slide into a global confrontation that will see no winners”, he told Mr Xi.
The so-called Ukraine peace plan, which largely repeated China’s stance, was met with general distrust in the West.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he agreed with some parts of it and said it was a sign of China’s willingness to engage. Beijing has so far not publicly responded to Mr Zelensky’s call for a summit.
The Chinese leader called for discarding “all Cold War mentality”, according to a Chinese readout of the meeting with Mr Lukashenko.
Mr Xi added that countries “should stop politicising” the world economy “and actually do things that will aid a ceasefire, cessation of war, and a peaceful resolution of the crisis”.
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Mr Lukashenko’s three-day visit comes after China upgraded the status of its relationship with Belarus in September, several months into the Ukraine war.
Chinese foreign ministry statements have described their ties as an “all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership”, a rare term that has been used for only one other country – Pakistan.
This means Belarus ranks very highly in China’s hierarchy of international relationships, just below Russia, according to a BBC Monitoring analysis.
The visit will be viewed as Russian allies circling the wagons around Moscow, as the Ukraine war crosses the one-year mark.
Belarus has been a key ally from the very beginning of the conflict when it allowed Russia to use the Belarusian border with Ukraine as a launchpad for an attack on Kyiv, which eventually failed.
China, meanwhile, has attempted to appear neutral by stating support for both sovereignty and the right to national security, which are Ukraine and Russia’s respective interests.
But Beijing has also refused to condemn Moscow and supported their war effort in indirect ways. Chinese state media has actively propagated Russian disinformation about the war, according to multiple analyses.
The Chinese government strongly refuted claims made by the United States last week that it was considering supplying weapons and ammunition to Russia.
“We do not accept the United States’ finger-pointing on China-Russia relations, let alone coercion and pressure,” China’s foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said when asked about the allegations.
Chinese firms have been accused of supplying dual-use technology – goods that can be used for both civilian and military purposes, such as drones and semi-conductor chips – to Russia.
