The Belarussian Ice Hockey Federation have signed a sponsorship deal with Chinese construction company CITIC Construction Co., Ltd ©Belarussian Ice Hockey Federation

A Chinese construction company have signed a sponsorship with the with the Belarusian Ice Hockey Federation, 

CITIC Construction Co., Ltd will support a new programme to develop children and youth hockey in the country.

Belarus are among the world's leading ice hockey teams.

They are currently placed ninth in the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) world rankings.

Belarus' best performance at the IIHF World Championships was at Riga in Latvia when they finished sixth.

Belarus finished 13th in this year's IIHF World Championships in Cologne and Paris ©Getty Images
Belarus finished 13th in this year's IIHF World Championships in Cologne and Paris ©Getty Images

They have placed seventh twice, including in 2014 when the tournament was held in Minsk.

At this year's World Championships in Cologne and Paris Belarus finished 13th.

Their best performance at the Olympic Games was at Turin in 2006 when they were sixth. 

Semyon Shapiro, chairman of the Belarusian Ice Hockey Federation, presented Yang Jiangqiang, vice-president of CITIC Construction Co., Ltd, with a certificate of a partnership.