Trade between China and CEE countries has grown at an average annual rate of 8.1%. Two-way investment has reached nearly US $20 billion, covering an increasingly broad range of areas. Since the establishment of the Cooperation mechanism between China and Central and Eastern European countries in 2012, our economic and trade cooperation has made positive progress.
The third China-Central and Eastern European Countries Expo and International Consumer Goods Expo opened in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang Province, on Monday, with the theme of "Deepening Practical Cooperation for a Common Future". Guests and companies from Central and Eastern European countries gathered here to discuss cooperation.
Adhering to a pragmatic orientation, our cooperation has yielded fruitful results
"China plans to import more than US $170 billion worth of goods from CEE countries in the next five years," "strive to double China's import of agricultural products from CEE countries in the next five years," and "continue to build Ningbo and other demonstration zones for economic and trade cooperation between China and CEE countries"...
Since 2012, China's trade with CEE countries has grown at an average annual rate of 8.1 percent, and China's imports from CEE countries have grown at an average annual rate of 9.2 percent. So far, two-way investment between China and CEE countries has reached nearly US $20 billion. In the first quarter of 2023, China's industry-wide direct investment in CEE countries increased by 148% year on year.
China and CEE countries have complementary economic strengths and strong demand for cooperation. "From the perspective of commodity structure, mechanical and electrical products account for about 70% of both imports and exports from China and central and eastern European countries, which shows that the added value of trade products between China and central and eastern European countries is high, reflecting the high level and gold content of bilateral trade cooperation." Said Yu Yuantang, director-general of the European Department of the Ministry of Commerce.
March 2023 marked the first anniversary of the Belgrade-Novi Sad section of the Belgrade-Belgrade Railway. As a flagship project of cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries, the railway has carried more than 2.93 million passengers and trained nearly 300 local technicians in the past year of operation, ushering in a new era of high-speed railways in the Balkan region.
The priority section of the North-South Expressway in Montenegro and the Pelesac Bridge in Croatia were opened to traffic. In 2022, Chinese companies signed project contracts worth US $9.36 billion in CEE countries.
"To enhance friendship and seek common development, to firmly believe that openness creates opportunities and inclusiveness leads to diversity, is the fundamental reason for the robust economic and trade cooperation between China and CEE countries." Said Liu Zuokui, deputy director and researcher of the Institute of European Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Expanding mutual benefit and strong growth drivers for cooperation
In the interview, many enterprises and the person in charge of the chamber of commerce mentioned a keyword - opportunity. "China has a huge market, which means more opportunities and potential." Jacek Bocek, vice president of the Polish-China Business Federation, said Polish milk is becoming more well-known in China, and Polish cosmetics brands are also entering the Chinese market.
On the other hand, Bocek also noted that more and more Chinese companies and people are coming to Poland to seek investment and trade opportunities, and he often receives representatives of Chinese companies seeking cooperation in Poland.
"We prefer to import from central and eastern European countries." In the eyes of You Haizhong, general manager of Ningbo Youjia Import and Export Co., LTD., who has been engaged in non-ferrous metal trade for a long time, cost-effective CEE goods are a new market opportunity for domestic importers.
In order to accelerate the import of goods from CEE countries, improve the business and entrepreneurship environment, and facilitate personnel exchanges and customs clearance, Chinese government departments at all levels have adopted a series of concrete measures to promote import of goods from CEE countries, including strengthening the role of the Expo platform, making good use of the economic and trade cooperation mechanism, leveraging the advantages of cross-border e-commerce, and encouraging local governments to lead by example.
As China's first national exhibition for Central and Eastern Europe after the smooth transition of epidemic prevention and control, the Expo has attracted more than 3,000 exhibitors and 10,000 professional purchasers, providing more opportunities for Chinese and central and eastern European enterprises to "bring in" and "go global".
We have great potential for common development
Looking back, we have seen fruitful cooperation between China and CEE countries. Looking ahead, there is huge potential for our economic and trade ties to extend to industrial cooperation, connectivity and people-to-people exchanges.
As the EU transitions to green energy, a large number of clean energy projects involving Chinese companies are making steady progress in CEE countries. The 100 MW photovoltaic power station in Koposzburg, Hungary's largest photovoltaic power station with installed capacity, which will be put into operation in 2021, is a model of clean energy cooperation between Hungary and China. The Mozura wind power project, a triparty cooperation between Montenegro, China and Malta, has become a new green name card for the local community.
This year marks the beginning of the second decade of China-CEE cooperation. From a new starting point, continued extensive consultation, joint contribution and deeper practical cooperation will unlock the potential of cooperation and usher in a brighter future together.
