Xi calls for drawing new China-CEEC cooperation blueprint 

President Xi

Chinese President Xi Jinping chairs the China-Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) Summit and delivers a keynote speech via video link in Beijing, China, on February 9, 2021. PHOTO | XINHUA/HUANG JINGWEN

Chinese President Xi Jinping on February 9 lauded the cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC), calling on countries to keep up the momentum and work together for a new chapter in China-CEEC cooperation.

“China-CEEC cooperation is part and parcel of China-EU relations, whose good progress means new opportunities for China-CEEC cooperation,” said Xi while delivering a keynote speech at the China-CEEC Summit via video link.

‘17 Plus one could make more than 18’

Xi lauded China’s cooperation with the 17 CEE countries, saying that “17 plus one could make more than 18.”

In 2020, overall China-EU relations made new progress despite the challenges caused by the pandemic. The two sides concluded schedule negotiations on the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment and signed a geographical indications agreement. They also launched partnerships for green and digital cooperation.

“The two sides also stood firm for multilateralism and took on global challenges together,” Xi said.

“Today, trade between China and CEE countries is nearly 85 percent bigger than nine years ago,” Xi noted, adding that the China-Europe Railway Express has reached most of the CEE countries, running more than 30,000 freight services so far.

The China-CEEC cooperation mechanism came into being in 2012 against the backdrop of the European debt crisis.

“Impressive progress has been made in several cooperation projects, including the Port of Piraeus in Greece, the Smederevo Steel Plant in Serbia, and the Peljesac Bridge in Croatia,” said Xi.

China-CEEC cooperation is based on mutual respect and has no political strings attached, Xi stressed, adding that all countries involved, regardless of their size, are equal partners in a cooperation mechanism featuring extensive consultation, joint contributions, and shared benefits.

Xi praised the progress jointly made by China and CEE countries in the Belt and Road cooperation. He said that in an innovative and pioneering spirit, China and CEE countries took steps early to explore the possibility of aligning cross-regional cooperation with Belt and Road cooperation. It makes Central and Eastern Europe the first region where all countries have signed agreements on Belt and Road cooperation.

Enhancing cooperation amid difficulties

“We need to tackle COVID-19 head-on and boost confidence in cooperation to tide over the tough times,” Xi said, adding that China will work with CEE countries through solidarity, coordination, and cooperation to complete the pressing task of pandemic responses.

COVID-19 vaccines serve as a powerful weapon to defeat the ravaging coronavirus, and those developed and produced by China are gaining popularity. Serbia has received one million doses of vaccines from a Chinese company so far, and there is ongoing cooperation between Hungary and Chinese vaccine companies.

“China will actively consider such cooperation with other CEE countries if there is a need,” said Xi.

Noting China and CEE countries need to develop smooth avenues of cooperation for interconnected development, Xi proposed pursuing high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. It means speeding up significant projects like the Budapest-Belgrade Railway and continuing the development of the China-Europe Railway Express to unlock the full potential of cooperation.

Xi said China intends to import more than $170 billion of goods from CEE countries and will work to double CEE countries’ agricultural exports to China and raise two-way agricultural trade by 50 percent.

As for green development and forging drivers of future-oriented cooperation, Xi urged advancing international cooperation on climate change. He also urged the joint implementation of the Paris Agreement and capitalising on various emerging business forms to widen the cooperation of the digital economy, e-commerce, and the health sector.

“The proposals put forward by Xi for advancing cooperation with CEE countries have given adequate consideration to the core interests of those countries. It has also demonstrated China’s sense of global responsibility and the readiness to work for win-win results,” said Liu Zuokui, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

China’s opening-up to broaden horizons for cooperation

“China and CEE countries share the conviction that openness brings opportunities and inclusiveness ensures diversity. This is the key to the sustained vibrancy of China-CEEC cooperation,” said Xi.

During the speech, Xi pledged that China would continue to open its doors wider with a focus on institutional opening-up that covers rules, regulations, management, and standards to broaden the horizons for China-CEEC cooperation.

“We will continue our efforts to foster a business environment based on market principles, governed by law, and up to international standards,” he said.

This year marks the beginning of China’s 14th Five-Year Plan for economic and social development and the start of the country’s new journey toward building a modern socialist country.

China has also been fostering a new development paradigm with domestic circulation as the mainstay and domestic and international circulations reinforcing each other.

“This will unlock the full potential of China’s vast market and domestic demand generated by the 1.4 billion population, including the over 400 million Chinese in the middle-income group. It will thus boost global demand and create more opportunities for the rest of the world,” Xi said.

The Chinese president vowed to take a more active role in bilateral, multilateral, and regional cooperation that delivers higher levels of mutual benefit for all.

“We also welcome the participation of other countries and international organisations in our cooperation to achieve win-win results,” said Xi.

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SIDE-BAR

China, Central and Eastern Europe see growing effective cooperation

Dai Mingyou owns a home furniture manufacturing company in Fuyang, east China’s Anhui Province. With the Spring Festival holiday approaching, Dai’s staff are working around the clock to deliver a pile of export orders, mainly from the Central and East European countries (CEEC).

“Germany used to be the major export destination of our products, but now countries in Central and Eastern Europe such as Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia account for half of our exports,” said Dai.

Train

A China-Europe freight train bound for Duisburg of Germany prepares for departure at Tuanjiecun Station in southwest China’s Chongqing, on January 1, 2021. PHOTO | XINHUA/TANG YI

Established in 2013, Dai’s company has grown steadily by producing and selling exquisite wood and rattan furniture. Its exports reached $20 million in 2020, with one-fifth being sold to Poland.

“Our first deal with a Polish client encountered some twists and turns, yet both sides showed sincerity and honesty in solving problems,” Dai said.

After that, Dai and his Polish counterpart became buddies. The number of his Polish clients has grown to 20, and he has developed a Polish branch for his company, which will start operating as soon as COVID-19 is under control there, he said.

Cooperation between Anhui and CEEC has been increasing in recent years, with six friendly inter-provincial relations established between the two sides, according to the provincial government. This trend has also been seen in other parts of China.

Despite the COVID-19-induced economic depression in most of the world, total trade between China and CEEC was up 8.4 percent in 2020 to hit $103.45 billion, crossing the 100-billion-dollar mark for the first time, according to data from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.

Since the establishment of the cooperation mechanism between the two sides in 2012, China’s direct investment in 17 CEEC totalled 3.14 billion dollars by the end of 2020, covering energy, infrastructure, logistics, automobile parts and other sectors.

Meanwhile, the 17 countries invested $1.72 billion in China during the period.

The ministry’s data also showed that the China-Europe freight train service saw some 12,400 train trips throughout 2020, with key passages and destinations including Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Slovakia.

The freight train service has become the lifeline of anti-epidemic response and the supply line for Belt and Road cooperation, building a road of friendship and prosperity between China and CEEC, Lin Songtian, president of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, said at the fifth China-CEEC local leaders’ meeting held on February 5 in Shenyang, capital of northeastern China’s Liaoning Province, via video link.

Through the service, Bulgaria’s yoghurt, Poland’s milk, Hungarian wine and Greek olive oil arrived in various parts of China to enrich Chinese people’s dining tables, said Lin.

According to Lin, China and CEEC have established 212 pairs of friendly provincial and municipal relations, which have promoted cooperation in various fields and enhanced mutual understanding and friendship between people.

The encouraging achievements in cooperation speak volumes about the huge potential of complementarity between the two sides, said Huo Yuzhen, China’s special representative of China-CEEC Cooperation.

Liu Ning, the governor of Liaoning Province, said at the meeting that sea-rail cargo routes linking Liaoning and Europe pass through 12 cities in five countries in central and eastern Europe, and the province’s trade volume with 17 CEEC hit $2.89 billion in 2020.

Croatia’s Zadar County and China’s Hainan Province signed an agreement to establish friendly relations in December 2019. Zadar County Prefect Bozidar Longin said via a video link that Zadar County actively supports the Belt and Road Initiative.

The China-CEEC cooperation mechanism provides a solid foundation for the local governments of the two countries to realize regional economic development, enabling the two sides to carry out specific cooperation projects by sharing knowledge and experience, he added. (Xinhua)