Premier Li hails outcomes of China-CEE cooperation

World
Europe

00:39

‍The outcomes of cooperation between China and 16 Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) achieved in the past six years have exceeded expectations, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Saturday.

Li made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the seventh leaders' meeting of China and the CEE and the Business Forum in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia.

Cooperation between China and the CEE is based on openness, consultation on an equal footing, mutual benefit and win-win outcomes, Li said.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov at the 7th Summit of Heads of Government of CEEC and China in Sofia, Bulgaria, July 7, 2018. /Reuters Photo

In the past six years, the trade volume between China and the CEE grew to almost 70 billion US dollars from 40 billion, with an average annual growth rate of 6.5 percent, which currently accounts for 11 percent of the total trade between China and Europe, up from 9.3 percent, Li said.

The two sides have seen steady growth of two-way investment, Li said.

China's investment has reached nearly 10 billion US dollars while the CEE countries have invested more than 1.4 billion US dollars in China, according to the premier.

Infrastructure interconnectivity has been promoted in an orderly manner and there have been nearly 9,000 China-Europe freight train services, Li said.

(From R to L) Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama attend the 7th Summit of Heads of Government of CEEC and China in Sofia, Bulgaria, July 7, 2018. /Reuters Photo

The number of Chinese citizens visiting the CEE countries has increased more than fivefold and the number of Chinese students studying in the CEE, and visa versa is close to 10,000, Li said, adding that tourists from China and the CEE make more than one million trips to each other every year

(Top image: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov pose for a picture during the 7th Summit of Heads of Government of CEEC and China in Sofia, Bulgaria, July 7, 2018. /Reuters Photo)

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency