Spotlight: A Polish view of the opportunity China offers

Poland-China cooperation is expected to deepen within the "16+1" mechanism between China and Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries in addition to the Belt and Road Initiative.

Cooperation between the two countries is expected to get a great boost by the state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who arrived here on Sunday.

Polish analysts see broad prospects for bilateral cooperation as long as Poland can catch the opportunity China offers to push forward its development and economic growth.

CHINA OFFERS OPPORTUNITY TO POLAND

Mutual understanding between Poland and China has progressed along with the development of bilateral ties, set onto a fast track by the 2011 establishment of a strategic partnership.

This has motivated the Polish leadership to "seek development of relations with Asian countries, particularly with China in its rapid development," Krzysztof Gawlikowski, an expert on East Asian civilization at the Warsaw University of Social Sciences and Humanities, told Xinhua.

In recent years, Poland and China have been each other's largest trading partner in the CEE region and Asia respectively. High-level exchanges increased, including the November 2015 trip to China by Polish President Andrzej Duda. Cooperation at the sub-national level went along, highlighted by a railway in use since 2013 connecting Chengdu, a city in the southwest of China, with Lodz, a central city of Poland, among other programs.

Gawlikowski said Poland finds itself increasingly attracted by China. Reasons include its economic well-being and an intention to cooperate with CEE countries.

More links are being built to boost bilateral ties under the "16+1" mechanism as well as the Belt and Road Initiative, he commented.

Former Polish Ambassador to China Krzysztof Szumski agreed. Poland faces now a window of opportunity opened by the aforementioned initiative and mechanism, in which Poland enjoys a key role, he said.

Warsaw highly values the opportunity China offers, and bilateral cooperation has great potential, said Chinese diplomat in Poland Liu Lijuan. She cited Warsaw's newly planned development projects capable of dovetailing with China's under the "16+1" mechanism and the Belt and Road Initiative.

The projects, including airport, highspeed rail and wharfs, require tremendous investment, as Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski briefed on the projects during his visit to Beijing in April.

BROAD PROSPECTS FOR POLAND-CHINA COOPERATION

For China, Poland can become a bridge in propelling its ties and cooperation with other European countries, according to Liu.

Many Polish people are upbeat about the future of cooperation with China that has much potential to tap.

For the moment, Poland hopes for increasing farm produce exports to China in order to alleviate a trade deficit. "I believe these products, of high quality, will be welcomed by Chinese consumers," said Gawlikowski from the Warsaw University of Social Sciences and Humanities.

Poland keeps much of traditional farming, with less use of chemicals, to the relief of people's environmental and health concerns, he noted.

Bilateral cooperation in culture, tourism and other fields are also deemed promising. For instance, more than 1,800 Polish students went to China for study in 2015, and this year, Chinese students in Poland total more than 1,300, according to figures from the Chinese Embassy in Poland. Endi