Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries expect to bring their bilateral ties with China to a new height under the framework of China-CEE cooperation -- the so-called "16+1" mechanism, which has yielded rich fruits in extensive fields.
The fourth leaders' meeting of China and the CEE countries is to be held in east China's Suzhou city on Tuesday and Wednesday, under the theme of "New beginning, New fields, New vision." It is expected to lay a stronger foundation for future development.
Established in 2012 in Poland's Warsaw and having developed greatly after the third China-CEE leaders's meeting, the cooperation platform, now serving as an engine for the CEE countries' economic revival, is widely applauded.
The participating CEE countries this year include Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia.
VAST POTENTIAL
Agricultural cooperation between China and the CEE countries is highly promising, as the Chinese market provides a flourishing prospect for the suffering European farmers, according to Vasil Gelev, executive director of the Association for the Promotion of Agricultural Cooperation between China and the Central and Eastern European Countries (APACCCEEC).
There is a demand in China for agricultural products from the CEE, and the CEE has the opportunity to provide Chinese consumers with quality products, Gelev said.
Slovakia hopes to attract more Chinese investment for their infrastructural projects and energy sectors, and is keen to explore potential avenues of cooperation with China in nuclear energy, said energy analyst Jozef Badida.
"We are also strong in alternative energy production," Slovak Economy Minister Vazil Hudak said. "We could combine Slovak experience with Chinese production."
"I can imagine joint ventures between Slovak and Chinese companies working on the third markets like Russia, Ukraine or other Asian countries," he said.
Latvia sees a great potential in transport and logistics cooperation.
"Latvia has been working this year to become a coordinator in logistics and infrastructure development," said Artis Kanpars, economic consultant to Latvia's president.
Levente Magyar, state secretary at Hungary's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, spoke of the financial cooperation between the two countries, pointing out that the Bank of China (BOC) had opened a regional center in Budapest last December and that the People's Bank of China had recently designated the Budapest branch of BOC as the region's renminbi clearing center.
In so doing, he said, Budapest has become the fifth European clearing center for the Chinese currency, the yuan, following London, Paris, Frankfurt, and Luxembourg. The Hungarian government will fully support the concept of advancing renminbi into a top world currency, he added.
