According to officials and scholars, free trade agreements are needed between China and countries from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in order to provide a new driving force for regional economic growth.
The trade relationship between China and CEE has seen a remarkable improvement, despite global trade frictions and the recent turbulence in financial markets. "That is proof that trade ties have great potential to develop," Xie Yuan, vice-president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), said on Thursday.
China sees the mechanism of "16+1 cooperation" between China and 16 Central and Eastern European countries as an important gateway to incorporate the Belt and Road Initiative into the European economy, said Xie.
It was the fifth year that Chinese delegates joined the forum. This year, 24 officials from Sichuan, Fujian and Henan provinces and the Inner Mongolia autonomous region delivered speeches at the forum, introducing regional economic development and projects related to the Belt and Road Initiative to seek further cooperation opportunities with Europe.
Deepening cooperation between China and CEE countries will not only help to make the most of economic growth opportunities, but also promote China-EU cooperation, according to many of the forum participants.
Trade between China and the 16 CEE countries has grown by an annual average of 6.5 percent since 2011. The total trade volume was $68 billion last year, which accounted for 11 percent of China-Europe trade. The proportion was 9.3 percent in 2011, according to data from the CPAFFC.
China-Europe freight trains, seen as one of the important ties to link economies in the two continents under the BRI, have also strengthened trade links. By the end of June, the cumulative number of trips of China-Europe freight trains had exceeded 9,000, reaching 42 cities in 14 European countries. (Source: China Daily)
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