MOC to promote imports from CEECs

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) will continue promoting imports from Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs), Gao Feng, spokesperson with the MOC said at a press conference held on Thursday.

The MOC will keep giving full play to the positive role of the China-CEEC Expo & International Consumer Goods Fair in boosting economic and trade cooperation between China and CEECs, stated Gao.

He applauded the second China-CEEC Expo & International Consumer Goods Fair held from June 8 to 11 in Ningbo, east China's Zhejiang Province, as an important platform for China and CEECs to jointly overcome challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic and propel economic recovery. It not only increased Chinese consumers' knowledge about goods from CEECs, but also enhanced CEECs' confidence in expanding exports to China, said Gao.

According to Gao, nearly 7.5 billion yuan of intended purchase of goods from CEECs was achieved during this year's expo.

The MOC will also support the construction of China-CEEC economic and trade cooperation demonstration zones in Ningbo and other places, in a bid to further unleash the potential of bilateral cooperation, said Gao.

China and CEECs have witnessed accelerated trade growth since the establishment of the China-CEEC cooperation mechanism in 2012. Trade between the two sides grew at an average annual rate of 8 percent from 2012 to 2020, and jumped 50.2 percent year on year to 30.13 billion U.S. dollars in the first quarter of 2021, data from the MOC showed.