Chinese PremierLi Keqiangdelivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the seventh China and the Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC) Economic and Trade Forum in Budapest, Hungary, Nov. 27, 2017. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)
Experts and politicians from Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC) have spoken highly of the fruitful results of cooperation between China and their countries, as well as a speech delivered by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at a China-CEEC forum.
In a keynote speech to the seventh China-CEEC Economic and Trade Forum held in the Hungarian capital city of Budapest on Monday, the Chinese premier called for enhancing links between China and CEEC, making very pragmatic proposals to advance their cooperation.
Marceli Burdelski, a professor specializing in Far East studies from Poland's Jagiellonian University, said Li's remarks on cooperation between China and 16 CEE countries, dubbed 16+1, were far-reaching, covering both the mechanism's past achievements and future development.
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the launching of 16+1 cooperation. Li said the 16+1 cooperation has been growing in the past five years, becoming an influential trans-regional mechanism with substantial projects and cooperation results.
Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka told a press conference after attending the meeting of heads of government of China and CEE countries that the 16+1 cooperation is full of vitality.
Calling the 16+1 cooperation a very important platform for coordination and communication, Albanian Deputy Prime Minister Senida Mesi said the mechanism will lead to further cooperation of more win-win results.
Everybody wins in the 16+1 cooperation, Otto Gajdics, acting editor-in-chief of Hungarian Times said, noting that the cooperation has been based on rational and practical partnerships among the participants, and that's why it is efficient and is able to develop at a fast pace.
Wieslaw Klimczak, president of Poland's Civil Association "Polish House," calling the 16+1 cooperation a mutual beneficial mechanism of win-win results, praised China's pledge to promote the balanced development of bilateral trade by importing more agricultural products such as meat and diary products, as well as honey and fruit from CEE countries.
China has also pledged financial support for the region's construction, which, he said, is good news to every CEE country and will boost regional development.
Experts also took notice of the remarks on financial cooperation in Li's speech.
In the speech, Li announced the establishment of China-CEEC Inter-Bank Association and the second phase of China-Central and Eastern Europe Investment Cooperation Fund.
David Kovacs, deputy director at the Chengdu Shuangliu Innovation & Pioneering Enterprise Service Co. Ltd, said financial cooperation between China and the CEE countries will channel more money to the region, promoting the launch of more major development projects.
Closer financial cooperation will also facilitate trade between China and CEE countries, the Hungarian national added.
Experts agreed that the advancing financial cooperation between China and CEE countries testifies to the strong willingness of both sides to further strengthen their partnership of cooperation and will inject fresh impetus to cooperation in various fields.
Meanwhile, the Chinese premier also said the 16+1 cooperation is not a geopolitical tool, but an incubator for pragmatic trans-regional cooperation, adding that the cooperation is conducive to the balanced development of China-European Union (EU) relations.
As an important part of and a helpful complement to China-Europe ties, cooperation between China and the 16 CEE countries has promoted the development of China-Europe relations, Li said.
Tamas Matura. assistant professor of international relations at Corvinus University of Budapest, said the 16+1 cooperation boosts closer exchange between Chinese and European civilizations.
The mechanism helps the two sides deepen mutual understanding and expand political and economic cooperation, he said.
The Paris-based Nouvelles d'Europe, the biggest Chinese newspaper in Europe, said in an article that China has been both a beneficiary of and a contributor to economic globalization, and that China's development unleashes fresh opportunities to the world as a whole.
The vision of building a community of shared future for mankind embodied by the 16+1 cooperation could be an inspiration for Europe to resolve the dilemma in relation to European integration, the article said.
