Ningbo to host two key trade summits

Ningbo, a coastal city in Zhejiang province, will host two State-level business events that seek to strengthen trade ties between China and Central and Eastern European countries.

The 2nd China-CEEC Ministerial Meeting on Promoting Trade and the 2nd Economic Cooperation China-CEEC Investment and Trade Expo will be held in Ningbo in June next year, according to the Suzhou Guidelines for Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries released last week.

The guidelines were released during the 4th Summit of China and Central and Eastern European Countries attended by Premier Li Keqiang and leaders from 16 CEE countries in Suzhou, Jiangsu province.

"We will spare no efforts to ensure the success of the two events and develop Ningbo as the destination of choice for CEE investors and also as a center for cultural cooperation," said Wang Jianhou, vice-mayor of Ningbo.

The coastal city will also take steps to further strengthen ties and communication with CEE countries by establishing various platforms such as forums and trade fairs.

Ningbo organized a forum recently in Suzhou to discuss possible cooperation between industrial parks in China and CEE countries. The event, a sub-forum of the China and Central and Eastern European Countries Economic and Trade Forum, was attended by government and business representatives from CEE countries including Slovenia, Latvia and Romania.

The city also hosted the 1st Economic Cooperation China-CEEC Investment and Trade Expo in June this year. The event was held under the auspices of the Belgrade Guidelines for Cooperation between China and the CEE countries.

The expo attracted nearly 50,000 officials, exhibitors, experts and scholars from 93 countries and regions.

"Several exhibitors from Bulgaria are promoting their products in Ningbo next year," said Lyuben Petrov, Bulgaria's deputy minister for economy.

The Ningbo government has also decided to invest 5.25 billion yuan ($822 million) to develop the China-CEEC Products Trading Pavilion and the China-CEEC guesthouse project to better serve investors. The two projects will be put into operation in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

The China-CEEC Products Trading Pavilion is the permanent location for the China-CEEC Products Trading Fair, which will be held throughout the year.

The first China-CEEC Ministerial Meeting on Promoting Trade was held in the city in 2014.

Figures from the local government show that Ningbo's trade volume with CEE countries reached $2.44 billion in 2014. Ningbo has sister city relationship with 19 cities in the CEE countries to promote culture, business and tourism.