Poland will ask China to help overcome the migration crisis on the border with Belarus

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski will insist at a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi that China put pressure on Russia to end the "hybrid operation" on its eastern border, which has led to the closure of Beijing's key trade route to Europe. This was reported by the agency Bloomberg.

Polish and Chinese Foreign Ministers to meet on Monday, September 15, near Warsaw.

The talks come days after Poland temporarily closed its border with Belarus due to military exercises. This border is an important route for Chinese rail shipments to Europe.

"This is a very important topic, and if he does not raise it, I will. For the full opening of the border, peace is needed on both sides," Sikorsky said before the meeting.

The country's Foreign Minister says Poland has spent €500 million to build a fence along its 400-kilometer border with Belarus after a sharp rise in illegal crossings over the past four years.

Tensions escalated last May when a Polish border guard was killed by a migrant. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk accused Belarus and Russia of using migration as a weapon.

Last year, Warsaw threatened to cut off an export route to the European Union as part of a diplomatic maneuver to enlist China's help.

Then-Polish President Andrzej Duda raised the issue of border tensions during a visit to Beijing, which "helped for a few months," Sikorski said.

"But, unfortunately, this hybrid operation has intensified again. So we need to talk again," the head of Polish diplomacy added.

• On April 4, 2025, it was reported that Poland would conduct an information campaign in seven countries to combat illegal migration.
• On July 26, the Foreign Intelligence Service reported that Lukashenko was again using his country's territory to transit illegal migrants from Africa, Middle East and Afghanistan to put pressure on the EU countries.
• On September 9, Tusk announced the temporary closure of the border with Belarus while exercises with Russia continue for national security reasons.