Chinese Premier Li Keqiang welcomed Greece becoming a full participant in the cooperation mechanism between China and Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) on Friday.

Li made the remarks at the eighth China-CEEC leaders' meeting in the Croatian city of Dubrovnik. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras attended the annual summit for the first time, turning the 16+1 mechanism into a 17+1 one.

The Chinese premier and the prime ministers of Croatia and Bulgaria unveiled a plaque for the Global Partnership Center of China and the CEEC, which will serve as a think-tank to provide legal consulting services for Chinese companies operating in the CEEC and vice versa.

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Li, who arrived in Croatia on Tuesday night for an official visit and the leaders' meeting, reiterated that the China-CEEC link was an important part of the cooperation between China and Europe, and that China and the CEEC were committed to promoting multilateralism and rules-based free trade.

Mutual respect and equal treatment

Li said at the meeting that China and the CEEC should make joint efforts to increase openness and safeguard free trade in the context of rising protectionism, calling for indiscriminate and equal treatment to companies from the two sides.

He told CEEC leaders that China is willing to import more products from the region.

During a signing ceremony after the talks, cooperation documents in areas such as trade, agriculture, food safety, public health, sanitation, e-commerce and high-tech were signed between China and the CEE countries. Protocols on facilitation funds for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and an innovation training program headed by China's tech giant Huawei were also signed. 

"We can show the world that with the synergy of different parties, and based on the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO), we can protect the global trading system, promote the development of free trade, and boost international economic cooperation and development," the Chinese premier said at a joint press conference with his Croatian counterpart Andrej Plenkovic.

Commenting on the newly opened China-CEEC Global Partnership Center in Bulgaria, Li said the think-tank will help Chinese enterprises develop a better understanding of laws and regulations in the CEE countries and vice versa.

Mutual respect and equal cooperation will always act as the key for the interaction between the two sides, Li stressed.

Next year's leaders' meeting will be held in China.

From 16+1 to 17+1

With Tsipras taking part in the leaders' meeting, Greece officially joined the platform.

"It's a great pleasure attending the summit today, representing Greece for the first time as a full member of this summit of Central and Eastern European countries and China," the Greek prime minister said at the meeting, adding that the platform, previously known as the 16+1 cooperation, can be called "17+1" now.

"The Participants welcome Greece joining as a full-fledged participant of China-CEEC Cooperation," the Dubrovnik Guidelines for Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries, issued after the meeting, said.

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Since the China-CEEC platform was launched in 2012, trade between the two regions has increased more than 50 percent. The volume reached 82.23 billion U.S. dollars last year, up 21 percent year on year.

With Greece on board, 12 of the 17 CEEC countries are member states of the European Union. All 17 countries have signed BRI cooperation agreements with China.

Premier Li's visit to Croatia came after a one-day tour in Brussels, where he attended the annual China-EU summit. Li wrapped up his two-nation Europe trip on Saturday.