Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries have shown increasing interest in the construction of the "Belt and Road" (B&R) initiative, taking the 16+1 cooperation formula on economy and trade to a higher level, an official at China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said during a press conference on Monday.
"The 16 CEE countries are all along the B&R initiative's route, and 13 of them have signed cooperation agreements with China on implementation of the initiative," said Zhou Xiaoyan, director-general of European affairs at the MOFCOM.
Bilateral trade between China and the 16 CEE countries soared to $58.7 billion in 2016 from $43.9 billion in 2010.
These countries accounted for 9.8 percent of China-Europe trade in 2016, according to the MOFCOM.
Investment from both directions has expanded and become more varied, with Chinese enterprises investing more than $8 billion in CEE countries in such sectors as machinery, chemical engineering, telecommunications and home appliances, according to the MOFOCM.
Meanwhile, the 16 CEE countries' investments in China exceeded $1.2 billion, the MOFCOM said.
Sponsored by the MOFCOM and local governments, the 3rd China-CEE Countries Investment and Trade Expo will be held in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang Province on June 8-12.
MOFCOM sees the expo as a significant opportunity to implement the fruits of the recently held Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation and use the initiative to promote trade among countries and regions along the route of the B&R initiative, Zhou noted.
