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02:16
China has vowed to deepen cooperation with Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC) at a virtual summit between leaders from both sides.
The summithas seen some 90 cooperation agreements clinched, reaching a record high. The new business deals are worth around $13 billion, covering infrastructure, energy, finance and other fields.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said China plans to import $170 billion worth of goods from the CEE countries in the next five years.
The Chinese authorities described it as a "pragmatic goal" made according to growth and trends. The country's total trade volume with the 17 CEE countries exceededthe $100 billion mark in 2020, with a year-on-year increase of 8.4 percent, higher than that of its trade withEurope as a whole.
Zhai Qian, the director general of the European Affairs Department at the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, said there will be lots of room for more Central and Eastern European imports given China's production and consumption growth.
He said China is ready to use platforms likethe China International Import Expo and the China-CEEC Expo to actively increase imports fromthese countries and promote balanced and sustainabletrade.
A China-Europe freight train heading for Belgrade prepares to depart from Wujiashan railway container center station in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, May 9, 2020. /Xinhua
"The CEE countries have their comparative advantages in mechanical and electrical products, cars and components, agricultural products, light textile and mineral raw materials," the official said.
President Xi Jinping also said China would cooperate with the CEE countries should they need COVID-19 vaccines, reemphasizing the equal footing of all countries involved in the summit.
China has exported a large number of medical supplies to the CEE countries. Meanwhile, Hungary and some of the other countries have been actively working with Chinese vaccine providers to jointly fight the pandemic.
Both sides have reached a series of initiatives and measures in public health and new forms of businesses aimed at responding to challenges and opportunities brought on by the pandemic.
Zhai said the initiatives cover each country's industrial advantages, adding that the CEE countries have many outstanding small and medium-sized enterprises in the pharmaceuticals and medical devices sector.
Business associations and enterprisesfrom both sides will promote apublic health industry alliance.
The summit has also proposed a dialogue mechanism on e-commerce cooperation, which is expected to help all parties strengthen dialogue and exchanges in e-commerce, explore new cooperation models and open up new channels for economic development amid the pandemic.
As part of the positive outcomes of the summit, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce hassigned memorandums on investment cooperation and trade promotion with its counterparts in Albania, Serbia, the CzechRepublicand Hungary.
Both sides have promised to worktogether to promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation and bring their economies to new heights.
The leaders of the 17 CEE countries said their nations had seen growth in infrastructure projects from their collaborations with China. They also agreed that the summit provided a useful platform for multilateral cooperation.
"We are committed to openness and inclusiveness and will not form 'exclusive groups.' We follow internationally recognized rules and respect EU standards," said Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Qin Gang.
Qin said China-CEEC cooperation has deepened China-European cooperation and has already become an important part of the overall development of China-European relations.
China welcomes the active participation of other countries and international organizations to achieve win-win outcomes, he said.
