China is willing to further strengthen cooperation with CEEC in economic development strategies and planning, and promote infrastructure connectivity and trade and production capacity cooperation, which was promised by a senior official.
“China is willing to unswervingly expand the scope of market opening and promote the opening of modern service industries, manufacturing and agriculture,” said Hu Chunhua, vice premier of the State Council, at the China-Central and Eastern Europe Cooperation Forum held in Ningbo. on Sunday.
The forum was part of the first China-Central and Eastern European National Exposition held in Ningbo and attracted officials, businessmen and scholars from China and Central and Eastern Europe.
Statistics show that between 2012 and 2018, trade between China and Central and Eastern European countries increased by 8.1% year-on-year, from $56.1 billion in 2012 to $89.3 billion last year. So far, Chinese companies have invested $12 billion in Central and Eastern European countries.
“Slovakia is proud to be part of the 17+1 initiative, and we have witnessed the concrete and practical results of this cooperation. We see China’s strong potential,” said Deputy Prime Minister Richard Drazie of the Slovak Republic.
He added that Slovakia, as a member of the European Union, understands the importance of economic cooperation with countries outside the EU and calls on both sides to strengthen economic cooperation in agriculture and food.
China – Central and Eastern European Countries Expo, or China – China Europe International Business School Expo, this year upgraded to a national-level fair, opened in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province in eastern China on Saturday. It ends on Wednesday.
It is worth noting that Greece is a new member of this year’s World Expo and has joined China’s cooperation with 16 CEEC members to transform the previous “16 + 1 cooperation” into “17 + 1 cooperation”.
Slovakia and the Republic of Lithuania are the guest countries of this year, and products from Jilin Province in northeastern China also appeared at the exhibition.
