Riga Guidelines for transport between China, CEE countries adopted

The first meeting of transport ministers from 16 Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries and China (16+1 format) was held here this Monday and Tuesday.

Discussions at the meeting are focusing on the development of transport and logistics operations between China and Europe. The first day of the meeting resulted in the adoption of the Riga Guidelines for transport.

The above meeting is taking place in the framework of the Guidelines for Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries, adopted in November 2015. Taking part in the meeting are transport ministers and their representatives from China and CEE countries.

Speaking at a news conference following the first day of the meeting, China's Vice Minister of Transport Dai Dongchang indicated that the first meeting of the transport ministers of the 16 CEE countries and China is essential for developing cooperation in the 16+1 format, as well as the integration of the transport networks and cargo deliveries.

In recent years, cooperation on the integration of the transport networks and cargo deliveries has been steadily developing in the 16+1 format, with countries expressing strong political support to integration efforts between China and CEE countries, as more and more joint projects are being implemented in the area of transport and cargo deliveries.

In Dai Dongchang's words, China will be putting the emphasis on three areas in order to promote the integration of Eurasian infrastructure and develop the international transport corridor.

Firstly, China will promote the integration of the economic corridor along the new Eurasian continental bridge to the Pan-European transport network and Europe's central transport corridors, steadily advance the construction of such important projects like the Hungary-Serbia railroad, the road network in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula, help speed up reconstruction of key Black Sea, Adriatic and Baltic ports in order to boost their capacity and cooperation with port areas.

Secondly, China intends to promote the integration of transport and communication rules, as well as rules regulating cargo shipping to China and countries of Central Asia and Eastern Europe in order to liberalize transport operations.

Thirdly, China intends to actively advance the development of logistics, information sharing on logistics between China and CEE countries, and speed up the creation of an information platform for logistics.

A business forum, which is also taking place as part of the two-day meeting in Riga, has brought together ministers and entrepreneurs from China CEE countries. Endit