Embracing Opportunities with Openness, Driving the Future with Innovation

 

 

Slovak wine, Slovenian electric gliders, Bulgarian rose water... In the Ningbo International Conference Center, a wide range of exhibits with Central and Eastern European characteristics attracted visitors to stop to look and to give endless praise. On May 22, the 4th China-CEEC Expo & International Consumer Goods Fair (hereinafter referred to as the "China-CEEC Expo") kicked off in Ningbo.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the European Union. In 2024, the bilateral trade volume between China and Central and Eastern European countries reached USD 142.3 billion, hitting a record high. As the only national-level mechanism exhibition for Central and Eastern Europe, the Expo will present a high-level economic, trade and cultural event for China and the world with an increasingly larger "circle of friends", wider areas of cooperation and richer products, to further deepen the economic and trade cooperation between China and Central and Eastern Europe, thus injecting more stability and positive energy into the development of China-Europe relations.

 

 

Slovak dancers taste jasmine tea drinks in the "Surging Zhejiang" exhibition area. Photo by Ruan Ziyan/Guangming Picture

 

 

A bridge connecting Central and Eastern Europe with the Chinese market

The exhibition area, number of exhibitors and number of exhibited goods at the Expo have all reached new highs, and it is expected to achieve an intended transaction volume of more than RMB 10 billion for the import of Central and Eastern European goods. In addition to exhibitors from 14 Central and Eastern European countries, exhibitors from 9 countries including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain actively participated in the exhibition. Among them, exhibitors from 8 countries were participating for the first time. The Expo has expanded to "Central and Eastern Europe+".

In the Central and Eastern Europe exhibition area, more than 400 exhibitors from Central and Eastern European countries brought more than 8,000 specialty products to show up. In addition to traditional specialty products from Central and Eastern Europe that are familiar to domestic consumers, such as crystal, beer, wine, honey, and cheese, there are also new products such as hyaluronic acid, VR glasses, and smart home appliances, providing Chinese buyers and consumers with more diverse choices.

Carcas, an exhibitor from Serbia, is an old friend of the China-CEEC Expo. He was still excited when he introduced the crystal products in his hometown for the fourth time: "International brands such as Swarovski and others are partners of Serbian crystal." He hopes to further expand the Chinese market through the China-CEEC Expo, so that more people can feel the charm of Serbian crystal.

This year's China-CEEC Expo also set up a "Digital and Intelligent Central and Eastern Europe" section for the first time. Central and Eastern European countries have brought innovative technologies in the fields of aviation and biohealth, including maritime safety sensors in Serbia, medical equipment in Slovakia, and virtual reality technology of VR Park in Hungary. In addition, domestic high-tech companies such as Unitree, DEEP Robotics, Lingban Technology, Shanghai AgiBot Robotics, and ROBOTERA also displayed their first innovative technologies such as humanoid robots, quadrupedal robots, and AR interaction on the same stage.

"This is our first time to participate in the exhibition." Mikropis Holding, a digital healthcare company from Slovenia, the guest country of this year's event. Hu Yun, head of its Chinese branch, said that the company has established mature markets in the United States, the Middle East and other regions, and hopes to seek more cooperation opportunities with Chinese investors, hardware manufacturers and local medical institutions through the China-CEEC Expo.

"The China-CEEC Expo is not only a commodity trade fair, but also a catalyst for common growth, and is a bridge connecting Central and Eastern European countries with the Chinese market." Hot, deputy speaker of the National Assembly of Slovenia, said that this China-CEEC Expo brought together more than 8,000 exhibits with an exhibition area of 80,000 square meters, which is a vivid manifestation of open dialogue and mutual learning between China and Central and Eastern European countries. She hopes to take the Expo as an opportunity to further expand trade between the two sides in the fields of goods and services, especially in the automotive industry and digital transformation fields, and jointly build a future full of resilience and creativity with the help of highly skilled talents and innovative ecology.

You Deliang, Chief Representative of the Polish Investment and Trade Agency's Office in China, said: "the China-CEEC cooperation in supply chain is a win-win choice in the era of globalization 2.0. Poland and CEEC countries are becoming a golden springboard for Chinese companies to layout Europe with their cost and policy advantages. Let us embrace opportunities with openness, drive the future with innovation, and jointly write a new chapter of coordinated development."

Ningbo's cooperation with Central and Eastern Europe is getting closer

"The China-CEEC Expo is a grand event in Ningbo! Welcome friends from all over the world to Ningbo. There are good products from Central and Eastern Europe, and there are also small seafood in Ningbo..." After the news of the Expo was "officially announced", Chen Yi, General Manager of Ningbo Dijia Weida Trading Co., Ltd., immediately forwarded it to her circle of friends, saying that this was her "most anticipated feast".

Chen Yi has been engaged in the import of Central and Eastern European goods business in Ningbo for 10 years and is a "full-time attendee" at the China-CEEC Expo. In recent years, her "shopping cart" has included Polish milk, Bulgarian rose series cosmetics, Romanian lollipops and other products, bringing high-quality Central and Eastern European products to the Chinese market. "We will bring Bulgaria's 'soul products' in the fields of food and health products to China to meet more consumers' pursuit of a healthy life."

As the venue of the China-CEEC Expo and the first China-CEEC Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Zone, Ningbo is constantly deepening and expanding economic and trade cooperation with Central and Eastern European countries. From 2019 to 2023, the China-CEEC Expo has been successfully held in Ningbo for three sessions. More than 3,000 CEEC enterprises and more than 10,000 kinds of CEEC commodities have participated in the exhibition, facilitating nearly USD 3 billion in CEE commodity transactions and more than USD 50 billion in two-way investment contracts.

Serbian meadow honey, Hungarian noble rot wine, Bulgarian rose products... More and more high-quality products from Central and Eastern Europe are accelerating their entry into Zhejiang and China through the China-CEEC Expo. Taking the Expo as an opportunity, each exhibit and agreement have become a vivid epitome of building consensus on cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries and promoting high-level opening up. Today, the average annual growth rate of Ningbo's trade volume with Central and Eastern European countries has reached 18.3%. From January to April this year, Ningbo's total import and export volume with Central and Eastern European countries reached RMB 19.7 billion, an increase of 13.8% over the same period last year.

With the help of the Expo, China's top-notch goods have also crossed mountains and seas to more Central and Eastern European countries. In the "Surging Zhejiang" exhibition area, the reporter saw a young man from Slovakia experiencing a massage chair. He was a high school student and a dancer in the Slovak exhibition area. When asked about his experience using it, he exclaimed: "It's so comfortable! I really want to buy one and take it back to my hometown." This is his first time to attend the China-CEEC Expo, and it is also the first time he has seen a robotic arm and a robotic dog up close. He said: "I hope more Chinese goods can come to Slovakia, so that we can have a richer and more diverse experience."

Zhou Jie, Deputy Director of the Commerce Bureau of Ningbo Economic and Technological Development Zone, said that in recent years, Ningbo has continuously introduced facilitation and encouragement policies to promote the construction of the China-CEEC Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Zone and investment and construction in Central and Eastern European countries, thus promoting two-way cooperation in the consumer goods field and promoting innovation linkage between industry, academia and research. Currently, Ningbo Zhoushan Port maintains direct shipping routes with five ports in Central and Eastern Europe, while the "China-Europe Express (CEX)" establishes connectivity between Asia and Europe within 30 days. Additionally, Ningbo Airport has launched intercontinental flights directly to Budapest, creating an "Air Silk Road," and customs' "One-Stop Customs Clearance Service for CEE" facilitates swift clearance of goods.

A 4-day China-CEEC Expo, a 365-day CEE Import Perennial Pavilion, and an all-weather Chinese market. Ningbo is continuing to write stories of "coming with excitement and leaving with satisfaction".

 

 

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            Disclaimer：The above content is translated from Chinese version of Guangming Daily. The Guangming Daily version shall prevail.