Polish province seeks to be portal on Belt and Road: official

The relationship between Sichuan province in China and the province of Lodz in Poland has continued to grow since a regular freight train first linked the two provinces four years ago, Vitod Stepien, governor of Lodz, said to the media in Chengdu, southwest China’s Sichuan province on Nov. 3.

The Chengdu-Europe Freight Train was launched four years ago, connecting Chengdu with Lodz, Poland.

Called “old friend” by the local media in Sichuan, Stepien said that after the freight train service came into operation, an increasing number of Polish enterprises have become interested in the Chinese market and culture, whilst seeking to pursue business opportunities in China.

“A noticeable change in Lodz is that 10 Chinese restaurants have opened in the past three years, and most of them are named Chengdu Restaurant,” he said.

Five freight trains shuttle between the two places every week. Thanks to its advantageous geological location, Lodz province is working to become a portal between China and Europe as a transport and logistics center to better promote the economic and trade cooperation between China and Europe, Stepien added.

He hopes the negotiations between the two governments can bring more apples, pork, beef, haute couture and household appliances to the Chinese market from Poland.

Five high-tech enterprises from Poland in the fields of aviation and construction took part in a recent exhibition in Chengdu.

Stepien said that there should be more associations and commerce chambers to foster mutual investment and cooperation, as well as productive and meaningful bilateral education cooperation.

Lodz city is bidding to host the 2022 World Expo. If successful, Stepien hopes that the Lodz expo can provide Sichuan with a platform to showcase its experience and concept of developing knowledge-based modern cities.