On May 12, Assistant Minister of Commerce Ren Hongbin said at a press conference held by the State Information Office that cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries has achieved fruitful results and bilateral economic and trade cooperation has broad prospects。The Ministry of Commerce will make good use of mechanisms and platforms such as the China-CEEC Expo to further promote the sustainable development of trade between China and CEEC and contribute to promoting global trade and economic recovery。The second China and Central and Eastern European Countries Expo and International Consumer Goods Expo will be held in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province from June 8 to 11。
Economic and trade cooperation enjoys broad prospects
Ren Hongbin said，Since 2012，Based on the principles of extensive consultation and joint contribution, pragmatic balance, openness and inclusiveness, innovation and progress，Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries has yielded fruitful results，Especially since 2020，Economic and trade cooperation between China and CEE countries has overcome the impact of the epidemic，Great progress has been made，This is mainly reflected in the following four aspects: First, bilateral trade has continued to grow，Second, investment cooperation is getting closer，Third, steady implementation of infrastructure projects，Fourth, connectivity remained stable。
Statistics show，Trade aspect，2012年-2020年，Trade between China and CEE countries is growing at an average annual rate of 8%，More than twice as fast as China's trade with the EU，In 2020, two-way trade exceeded 100 billion U.S. dollars for the first time.Investment aspect，Two-way investment between China and CEE countries is now close to US $20 billion。
Talking about the reasons for the rapid growth of bilateral trade and investment, Ren Hongbin said that China and CEECs have a traditional history of friendly cooperation, both sides attach great importance to economic and trade cooperation, and enterprises of the two sides have made great efforts to explore markets and their industries are highly complementary。
Ren Hongbin said that the trade structure of China and Central and Eastern European countries has been continuously optimized, highlighting the high level and quality of bilateral trade cooperation, such as more than 70% of the imports and exports of both sides are mechanical and electrical products。Moreover, our industrial structures and industrial chains are highly complementary. We are both important partners in the Belt and Road Initiative, and our economic and trade cooperation enjoys broad prospects。
"In the next step, the Ministry of Commerce, together with relevant departments, will work with the governments and enterprises of Central and Eastern European countries to strengthen the research and evaluation of economic and trade cooperation between the two sides, and take multiple measures to expand imports from central and Eastern European countries and promote trade balance.。Ren Hongbin said that the Ministry of Commerce will take five major measures to promote the import of Central and Eastern European goods: First, strengthen the role of the expo platform, so that Chinese enterprises and consumers more and better understand the characteristics of central and Eastern European products。Second, make good use of economic and trade cooperation mechanisms to create a mutually beneficial policy environment。Third, give full play to the advantages of cross-border e-commerce and tap new trade growth points。Fourth, encourage local governments to lead by example and promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation。Fifth, deepen China-Eu connectivity and ensure smooth and orderly trade flows。
We will promote high-quality development of economic and trade cooperation
"We will work together with the Central and Eastern European countries and the relevant parties in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, and strive to hold a high-standard, high-quality and high-level expo.。Ren Hongbin said that the second China-CEEC Expo and International Consumer Goods Expo will be held from June 8 to 12, with the theme of "Building a new pattern and Sharing New opportunities", and the expo is the only national exhibition in China for CEEC countries。
Talking about the significance of holding the expo，Ren Hongbin said，This Expo is a concrete action taken by all parties to jointly implement the outcomes of the China-CEEC Summit held in February this year and promote the high-quality development of bilateral economic and trade cooperation between China and CEEC，It is China that bases itself on a new development stage, implements a new development concept, and builds a new development pattern，We took important measures to continue to promote high-level opening up。The Expo will showcase quality products from CEECs, help China expand imports from CEECs, promote China-Eu trade and investment cooperation, and help meet the needs of China's ever-expanding consumer market。
Zhu Congjiu, vice governor of Zhejiang Province, said that the expo has set up nearly 20 important activities and will release a series of cooperation results, such as launching the China-Central and Eastern European countries e-commerce cooperation dialogue mechanism。The Expo has set up the Central and Eastern Europe Exhibition, the International Consumer Goods Exhibition, and the annual exhibition of imported goods, and it is expected that more than 2,000 exhibitors and more than 6,000 buyers from across the country will sign up to participate。
Business is also on the move。Zhang Shaogang, Vice Chairman of CCPIT, said that CCPIT and the People's Government of Zhejiang Province will hold the sixth meeting of China-CEEC Joint Chamber of Commerce on June 8, with the theme of new starting point, new voyage and New harvest, focusing on business cooperation, including the opening ceremony, outcome release, topic discussion and enterprise docking。Compared with the previous five meetings, this meeting has a higher starting point, wider scope, updated format, more substantive content and more results。At that time, the Chinese and European business communities will release the Ningbo Initiative and draw up a roadmap and timetable for business cooperation。