1st LD: China, CEE countries to accelerate win-win cooperation

China enjoys broad cooperation prospects with Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries and should accelerate win-win cooperation, leaders from the two parties said Tuesday.

Trade between China and the 16 CEE countries exceeded 60 billion U.S. dollars last year amid sluggish global economic growth with impressive growth in the past five years, indicating tremendous trade and investment potential, Li said while addressing the opening ceremony of the fifth economic and trade forum between China and CEE countries.

Stressing CEE countries could be centers of strength amid the economic slow-down in Europe, Austrian Prime Minister Orban Viktor called on China and Central and Eastern European countries to further develop potential and expand cooperation in new areas.

Li called for the acceleration of connectivity projects to link regional transportation and Internet infrastructure development with the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative.

China is willing to invest in the construction and upgrade of infrastructure in port areas of the Baltic Sea, the Adriatic Sea and the Black Sea to boost cooperation and connectivity.

Polish President Andrzej Duda told the forum that the ambitious Belt and Road Initiative will bring benefits both to China and Central and Eastern European countries.

Infrastructure construction will offer more cooperation opportunities between Poland and China, as Central and Eastern European countries are the only way traveling from China to Europe, Duda said, adding that Poland, as Eurasia's logistics center, is vital in promoting Sino-European trade.

The two parties will speed up development of a railway running through Belgrade and Budapest to connect China, Hungary and Serbia, with the flagship project potentially starting soon.

Meanwhile, China will support CEE countries in their industrial upgrade with its advanced capacity in automobiles, steel, machinery and other sectors, Li said.

Trade in the agricultural sector will be another key cooperation field and China will support the import of quality produce from CEE countries through activities such as expositions, according to Li.

To facilitate bilateral investment, China is considering a 3-billion-U.S. dollar investment fund and proposed to establish a "16+1" multilateral financial firm to expand financing channels and reduce financing cost.

Li called for more support and involvement of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in bilateral investment and trade to draw their wisdom and proposed setting up an innovation platform to serve bilateral cooperation of SMEs.

Li reassured the leaders that the Chinese economy is resilient with huge market potential and will maintain sustainable growth with ongoing structural reforms.

"China is expected to avoid the middle income trap by 2020 with an average annual GDP growth above 6.5 percent in the next five years and will contribute to global economic recovery and world peace," Li said.

China will import goods worth over 10 trillion U.S. dollars and may invest more than one trillion U.S. dollars overseas in the next five years, offering abundant growth opportunities to other countries.

Hailing China as "a long-term friend," Viktor said cooperation between Central and Eastern European countries is based on mutual respect and mutual benefit.

Austria has received 3.5 billion U.S. dollars of investment from China, said Viktor, adding that the investment is not imposed on Austria by China through its economic power, but mutual benefit instead. Endi