China has said it will invest some $10 billion...

The announcement comes at a time of strained relations between Belarus and Russia, its traditional ally.

The decision was announced on Thursday during a visit by Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, the most probable successor to Chinese leader Hu Jintao, to the Belarusian capital of Minsk.

On the eve of his visit, Xi said China would provide Belarus with a $1 billion loan intended to be spent on joint projects. Besides this, Beijing also pledged to provide some $8.8 million to Belarus at no expense to Minsk.

"This is a political decision...within the framework of Belarusian-Chinese relations," Xi said.

In December, Beijing approved a $5.7-billion credit line for Belarus. As a result, China"s total investment in the Belarusian economy has reached $15.7 billion, Belarusian government spokesman Alexander Timoshenko was quoted by Gazeta.ru as saying.

The two countries intend to cooperate in a total of 89 projects. Among them is the construction of a

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