Romania

Note: This column mainly includes countries along the Belt and Road and countries that have signed cooperation agreements with China on Belt and Road Initiative.

In 2013, the comprehensive friendly and cooperative partnership between the People's Republic of China and Romania grew from strength to strength with new progress made in their practical cooperation across the board.

The two countries maintained frequent high-level exchanges. In November, Premier Li Keqiang paid an official visit to Romania and attended the Meeting of Heads of Government of China and Central and Eastern European (CEE) Countries held in Bucharest. During the visit, he held talks with Prime Minister Victor Ponta, met with President Traian Basescu, Chairman of the Senate Crin Antonescu and Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies Valeriu Zgonea and made a speech entitled "China- Romania Friendship and Cooperation: Move Forward Like a Ship in High Gear" at the parliament of Romania. The two governments issued the Joint Declaration by the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of Romania on Deepening Bilateral Cooperation in the New Circumstances. The two sides signed 13 commercial contracts or letters of intent, covering such areas as economy, trade, investment, quality inspection, energy and agriculture. In March, President Traian Basescu, Prime Minister Victor Ponta, Chairman of the Senate Crin Antonescu and Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies Valeriu Zgonea sent letters of congratulations to President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang, NPC Chairman Zhang Dejiang and CPPCC Chairman Yu Zhengsheng respectively on their assumption of office. In April, Chairman Zgonea sent a letter to Chairman Zhang to express condolences over the earthquake in Lushan, Sichuan. At the end of June and early July, Prime Minister Ponta attended the Local Leaders' Meeting of China and CEE Countries in Chongqing. During his stay in Beijing, President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang both met with him.

The two foreign ministries maintained sound exchanges and cooperation. In March, Foreign Minister of Romania Titus Corlatean sent a letter of congratulations to Foreign Minister Wang Yi on his assumption of office. In April and July, Foreign Minister Corlatean sent letters to Foreign Minister Wang to express condolences over the earthquakes in Lushan, Sichuan and Dingxi, Gansu respectively. In October, Vice Foreign Minister Song Tao traveled to Romania for vice-ministerial-level political consultation and presided over the National Coordinators' Meeting for Cooperation Between China and CEE Countries. He met with Prime Minister Ponta and Foreign Minister Corlatean and held talks with Dan Sova, Minister Delegate of the Department of Infrastructure Projects of National Interest and Foreign Investment and Romanian National Coordinator of Cooperation Between China and CEE Countries.

Exchanges between the legislatures and the political parties of the two countries kept expanding. In April, Deputy Andrei Dolineaschi, Vice Secretary General of the Social Democratic Party, attended the China- Europe High-level Political Parities Forum in Suzhou. In June, Vasile Blaga, President of the Liberal Democratic Party, visited China. In September, NPC Vice Chairman Ji Bingxuan visited Romania. In October, Vice-Chairman of the Senate Cristian Dumitrescu came to China for the first Young Political Leaders Forum of China-CEE Countries.

Positive progress was made in economic and trade cooperation, and cooperation under the framework of Cooperation Between China and CEE Countries was further strengthened. In May, Constantin Nita, Minister Delegate of the Department of Energy, visited China and attended the ninth China Nuclear Energy Congress. In July, Minister Delegate of the Department of Infrastructure Projects of National Interest and Foreign Investment and Romanian National Coordinator of Cooperation Between China and CEE Countries Sova came to China for the Local Leaders' Meeting of China and CEE Countries held in Chongqing and signed the China-Romania Framework Agreement on Cooperation with Vice President of China Development Bank Li Jiping. In September, Minister Delegate Sova came to China for the 23rd session of the China-Romania Joint Committee on Economic Cooperation. In the same month, the first work meeting of the China-Romania Expert Advisory Committee for the Construction of Transportation Network was held in China.

Exchanges and cooperation in such areas as culture, education, military and justice as well as at the local level were vibrant. From April to August, China held the exhibition "Treasures of China" in Romania, unprecedented in scale, duration and value since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. In May, Irina Marin, Secretary of State of the Culture Ministry, came to China for the first China-CEE Countries Forum on Cultural Cooperation, and the Romanian Radio National Orchestra staged performances at the Shanghai Spring International Music Festival. In June, the exhibition "New Vision: Contemporary Chinese Art" was held in Romania. In July, leaders from ten Romanian cities or counties, including Bucharest, the County of Arges and the County of Dambovita, came to China for the Local Leaders' Meeting of China and CEE Countries held in Chongqing and signed cooperation agreements with their Chinese counterparts at the meeting. In November, the fourth Confucius Institute in Romania was established in Bucharest, and the two sides signed the Agreement Between the People's Republic of China and Romania on Mutually Establishing Cultural Centers and the Plan for Cultural Cooperation 2013-2016.

Vice Minister of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine Wei Chuanzhong visited Romania and signed the Memorandum Between the People's Republic of China and Romania on Cooperation in Animal Inspection and Quarantine and Food Security. The two governments also signed the Protocol Between the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China and the National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority of Romania on the Quarantine and Sanitary Requirements for China's Import of Cattle from Romania and the Protocol Between the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China and the National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority of Romania on the Quarantine and Sanitary Requirements for China's Import of Frozen Pork from Romania. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China sent a delegation to the first European Public Diplomacy Forum held in Romania. Vice Minister of Supervision Yu Chunsheng visited Romania. Vice Chairman of the NPC Foreign Affairs Committee and head of the group on China's relations with the European Parliament (EP) Wang Xiaochu led a delegation to the EP for the 36th Meeting of the NPC-EP Regular Exchange Mechanism and visited Romania.

President of the National Integrity Agency Horia Georgescu, Inspector General of the Romanian Gendarmerie Mircea Olaru and President of the Constitutional Court Augustin Zegrean visited China.

By the end of 2013, the two countries had established 27 sister cities.