China’s Contribution to Global Trade: A Collaborative Perspective
According to high-ranking officials in the Chinese government, China aims to bolster its economic and commercial connections with Central and Eastern European (CEE) nations through cross-border e-commerce and economic cooperation.
China intends to establish committees for government-level economic and trade relations with CEE countries to promote bilateral trade and investment. These committees will also arrange meetings that focus on trade facilitation, working groups for e-commerce, and other channels of communication to enhance coordination and consultation on trade policies between both parties.
The officials said that China aims to meet export demands from CEE countries, especially for agricultural and food products. They will facilitate the entry of CEE countries’ products into domestic e-commerce platforms and support economic and trade cooperation demonstration zones to attract more CEE companies for investment. They will also encourage and support companies of CEE countries to participate in various exhibitions held in China to expand the visibility of products from Central and Eastern Europe in the Chinese market.
The third edition of the China-Central and Eastern European (CEEC) Expo is scheduled to take place from May 16 to May 20 in Ningbo, Zhejiang province. It is projected that the expo will feature roughly 3,000 exhibitors, a 30% increase compared to the previous event. More than 2,030 buyers from Central and Eastern Europe have registered for the expo, and over 100,000 individuals are anticipated to attend.
Trade and economic ties between China and CEE countries have grown rapidly over the past decade, with two-way investment reaching nearly $20 billion. Despite external disruptions such as geoeconomic fragmentation and a gloomy global economic outlook, China’s direct investment in CEE countries rose by 148 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of the year, while the trade value between the two sides rose 1.6 percent on a yearly basis to $33.3 billion.
China plans to leverage the potential of its massive market and the geographical advantages of the CEE countries to diversify their collaboration and sustain trade growth. They also aim to deepen practical cooperation with the European Union in digital, green, and new energy sectors and work together to safeguard the rules-based multilateral trading system. In the present interconnected global economy, promoting a healthy and mutually beneficial economic partnership is essential for success.
