FILE: Belarus - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Aerial shot of cityscape, national flag of Belarus

Minsk, Belarus - Released on Aug 29, 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
2. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Alexander Lukashenko, Belarusian President (partially overlaid with shots 3-4/ending with shot 5):
"After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, our economy was plunged into great difficulty, because the old system of cooperation had been so extensive. We used to source components, spare parts and resources from Russia, Ukraine and the Baltic republics, assemble them into finished goods, and then sell them both inside the Soviet Union and abroad. When that chain broke apart, the impact on us was devastating. Our priority had to be preserving the industrial system, and that was the starting point of our policy. If at that time we had blindly turned to the West, rather than focusing on development as China did, our country would have fallen apart long ago. The economic system would have collapsed, and we would have ended up like some other post-Soviet states -- caught in endless cycles of 'color revolutions', which in reality meant submission to the West."

++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
FILE: Brest, Belarus - March 17, 2022 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
3. Millennium monument
4. Various of street view, traffic, buildings, pedestrians
++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++

FILE: Minsk, Belarus - April 6, 2018 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
5. National flag of Belarus

FILE: Minsk, Belarus - Sept 12, 2016 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
6. Traffic

Minsk, Belarus - Released on Aug 29, 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
7. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Alexander Lukashenko, Belarusian President (starting with shot 6/partially overlaid with shot 8):
"Looking back, I often wonder why the people chose to entrust the country to someone as inexperienced as I was then. That trust has stayed with me, and it has been my greatest source of motivation in fulfilling my duties. Belarus, in my view, should follow a path like China’s — steady, deliberate, avoiding rash leaps or radical moves. I have always said development must be gradual. Like China, we must act prudently, carefully assess the situation in full, and lead the nation and society calmly towards the future it deserves."

++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
FILE: Beijing, China - 2019 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
8. Various of handshake sculpture, national flags of China, Belarus
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++

FILE: Minsk, Belarus - April 2020 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
9. Various of national flags of China, Belarus

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has shared his national development philosophy, saying he has sought to avoid any radical moves while developing his country in a steady and gradual manner as China has.

Lukashenko was speaking in a wide-ranging interview with the China Media Group (CMG) which aired on Friday ahead of his visit to China. The Belarusian president is set to participate in the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in the northern port city of Tianjin before attending China's V-Day commemorations in Beijing.

Reflecting on his approach to development, Lukashenko stated that preserving Belarus' industrial system has been always a top priority, and said he ensured major strategic decisions were made to protect the country from outside interference from the West.

"After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, our economy was plunged into great difficulty, because the old system of cooperation had been so extensive. We used to source components, spare parts and resources from Russia, Ukraine and the Baltic republics, assemble them into finished goods, and then sell them both inside the Soviet Union and abroad. When that chain broke apart, the impact on us was devastating. Our priority had to be preserving the industrial system, and that was the starting point of our policy. If at that time we had blindly turned to the West, rather than focusing on development as China did, our country would have fallen apart long ago. The economic system would have collapsed, and we would have ended up like some other post-Soviet states -- caught in endless cycles of 'color revolutions', which in reality meant submission to the West," he said.

First elected president of Belarus in 1994, Lukashenko secured his seventh term in office after winning the country's presidential election earlier this year, and said he has been grateful to have the "trust" of his nation.

"Looking back, I often wonder why the people chose to entrust the country to someone as inexperienced as I was then. That trust has stayed with me, and it has been my greatest source of motivation in fulfilling my duties," he said.

Lukashenko also hailed China's development model as something that can be emulated in Belarus, believing this can help lead the nation towards a bright future.

"Belarus, in my view, should follow a path like China’s — steady, deliberate, avoiding rash leaps or radical moves. I have always said development must be gradual. Like China, we must act prudently, carefully assess the situation in full, and lead the nation and society calmly towards the future it deserves," he said.