China-CEEC trade sets vital passage linking China Zhejiang and CEECs

The second China-CEEC Expo & International Consumer Goods Fair (China-CEEC Expo) and the 23rd China Zhejiang Investment and Trade Symposium, concluded in Ningbo, east China's Zhejiang Province on June 11, yielded remarkable cooperative results.

Cross-border deals worth nearly 10.78 billion yuan were signed during the four-day event, while a total of 97 investment projects worth of 18.21 billion yuan were also contracted during the expo, helping Zhejiang set up a major trade passage linking China and Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs).

--Deeper and wider cooperation with more exchanges

Located in the eastern coast of China, Zhejiang Province is one of the first provinces opening to the outside world, with its economic and trade cooperation with the CEECs as an important part.

With a total area of 200,000 square meters, the expo set up a total of 3,003 exhibition booths and attracted 7,468 purchasers, which further deepened and widened the exchanges between China and the CEECs.  

The Perennial Hall of Special Commodities from CEECs opened during the expo displayed more than 4,000 items. Ningbo established a VR panoramic online venue in the same proportion to comprehensively display the CEEC commodities, said Li Guanding, Vice mayor of Ningbo City.

The Perennial Hall of Special Commodities from CEECs will increase the reputation and attract new customers for Czech products in China's market, said Karel Srol, Consul General of the Czech Republic.

For Dejan Marinkovic, Consul General of Serbia to Shanghai, the Perennial Pavilion is a good opportunity for Serbia to expand its influence in Chinese market, and Dejan added that Serbia will provide a wide range of products such as wine, meat, and natural juice to Chinese consumers.

-- Consistent opening up

Taking the expo as a chance, Zhejiang has always been committed to the transition from developing foreign trade to strengthening opening up to the outside world.

Zhejiang Province registered a total of 1.2 trillion yuan in foreign trade in the first four months of the year, with a year-on-year increase of 38 percent. Its exports amounted to 854.6 billion yuan, up 38.6 percent compared with the same period last year.

As a highland of Zhejiang's reform and opening-up, the Zhejiang Pilot Free Trade Zone(FTZ) has established a trillion-yuan-level oil and gas industrial layout. The FTZ achieved advanced high-standard and all-round opening up after its expansion in 2020.  

Meanwhile, the overseas economic and trade cooperation zones of Zhejiang also serve as major opening-up and cooperation platforms for local enterprises to go global. By far, Zhejiang has set up 16 overseas economic and trade cooperation zones, and attracted over 500 enterprises to settle in the parks, with the total investment exceeding 6 billion U.S. dollars.

Zhejiang Province creates a sound business environment for attracting foreign capital and enterprises. "Foreign enterprises value Zhejiang's market most for its favorable investment environment. Assistance is always available when foreign enterprises are in times of difficulty," according to Rafael Suchan, CEO of Scholz Recycling Group, Scholz will increase its investment in Zhejiang.

-- Build a cooperation bridge through various channels

Ahead of the 2nd China-CEEC Expo, a new China-Europe freight train route linking the city of Jinhua in east China's Zhejiang with Budapest in Hungary was launched. The train carried about 21 million yuan (about 3.3 million U.S. dollars) worth of goods, including auto parts, electronic instruments and household items. It is expected to arrive in the Hungarian capital in 18 days.

The freight trains dubbed Yixin'ou in Chinese (Yiwu-Xinjiang-Europe) marks an important carriers for Zhejiang to link the sea and the land from east to west while influencing the neighboring areas. Since its operation in 2014, the freight trains have become a shining brand in the "going global" of Zhejiang.

During the January-May period this year, a total of 906 China-Europe freight trains departed from Zhejiang to deliver 75,000 TUEs goods to 51 countries and regions across Eurasia via 16 freight train routes.

As a major starting point of the ancient "Maritime Silk Road", the Ningbo-Zhoushan Port that boasts an opening history of more than 1,200 years has grown into the largest one in the world.

The products from the world enter into the Chinese market through the port, and the products "made in China" are also exported to the world from Zhoushan Port. At present, the Ningbo-Zhoushan Port has established trade relations with more than 600 ports across 100 countries and regions in the world.

A China-CEEC dialogue mechanism on e-commerce cooperation was launched during the expo. Zhejiang pledges to promote the implementation of the mechanism in Ningbo to facilitate the access of more CEEC products to China by e-commerce channels.