After Two Years of Strategic Preparation, This National Exhibition Has Unleashed New Vitality

 

 

From May 22 to 25, the 4th China-CEEC Expo & International Consumer Goods Fair was held in Ningbo, Zhejiang, under the theme "New Visions for the future".

Following two years of strategic groundwork, this national exhibition has significantly broadened its scope, evolving from daily consumer goods trade to multifaceted cooperation—including logistics optimization, industrial synergy, and international partnership expansion—thereby injecting fresh momentum into China-CEEC collaboration.

Redoubled efforts to deliver on major-country commitments

"Over the next five years, China will import goods worth over USD 170 billion from CEECs." This pledge was made by China during the February 2021 China-CEEC Leaders Summit. To actively fulfill its commitments as a major nation, Ningbo has established a seamless trade chain through multi-dimensional sea-land-air coordination and policy innovation.

On May 15, Ningbo launched China's pioneering "1 Euro to China" intercontinental express service. Operated jointly by the Procurement Alliance of CEEC Commodity and SF Express, this weekly tri-flight route slashes shipping costs from 1.5-2 euros to just 1 euro per kilogram. This air corridor enables niche CEE products with high value-added and short shelf life to reach consumers within a record 4 days.

The CEX direct route connecting Ningbo Zhoushan Port with Germany's Wilhelmshaven, launched in late 2024, employs an innovative "shipping route + warehouse" model. Chinese goods now reach major CEE countries via Germany in just 30 days - 10 days faster than the China-Europe Railway Express at significantly lower costs.

In addition to facilitating the import of goods from CEECs, Ningbo is also actively expanding market outreach to enhance public awareness of these products.

 

 

“Sweet Date on the Bite” – A cultural exchange event featuring CEE cuisine and “Delicious Zhejiang: A Thousand Bowls from a Hundred Counties”. Photo by Li Jiawei, Sharing Alliance · Jiangbei

 

 

On May 21, the “Sweet Date on the Bite” event returned to Ningbo’s Old Bund, showcasing nearly 100 CEE delicacies. International chefs demonstrated live cooking, drawing crowds of eager visitors. The Old Bund now features three flagship projects—”CEE Youth Innovation Center”, “CEE Product Exchange & Experience Center”, and “Window to CEE”—forming a distinctive brand ecosystem.

The Central and Eastern European Specialty Commodities Perennial Pavilion, housing 5,000 products across 37 national pavilions, has become China’s largest CEE goods distribution hub. The 7th edition of the “Hi-Go CEE” promotional campaign has further boosted its popularity.

On the policy front, Ningbo Customs introduced 14 streamlined measures ahead of the Expo, enabling “instant processing upon arrival” for exhibits and “real-time approval upon application”. In recent years, its pioneering "One-Stop Services for Imports from CEEC" digital platform has achieved end-to-end guided services.

Last year, Ningbo’s CEE imports totaled 12.1 billion yuan, marking a 7.5-fold increase from a decade ago and accounting for 5.5% of China’s total. In the first four months of this year alone, Ningbo’s CEE food imports reached 41.321 million yuan.

Exploring every avenue to expand our partnership network

This expo welcomed both familiar faces and many first-time exhibitors from CEECs, with a total of 435 participating companies. They showcased an array of daily consumer goods alongside distinctive projects in technology and culture.

 

 

Visitors experience the Ole Wonderland VR Park attraction. Photo by He Yuankai

 

 

The Sino-Hungarian Ole Wonderland VR Park made its grand debut. With VR headsets, visitors embarked on magical carpet rides through enchanted forests, delivering breathtaking immersive experiences. Project lead Gyorgy revealed their Ningbo flagship store opened in April, aiming to establish deeper VR collaborations with Chinese enterprises through this expo.

The exhibition achieved a significant breakthrough by expanding from CEE countries to an innovative “CEE+” model. Alongside enterprises from 14 CEECs, businesses from nine other nations including the UK and France have also participated. Exhibitors introduced renowned branded products from their home countries to “test the waters”, such as London’s Yaman tea and Italy’s Tobia Original Coffee Beans, adding distinctive flavors to the expo.

As the exhibitor base expands, the China-CEEC Cooperation continues to deepen, radiating from Ningbo to broader regions. Zhejiang Province’s six economic cooperation demonstration zones co-hosted nine industrial matchmaking events with the Ningbo CEE Center, with the Slovak Low-Altitude Economy Forum on May 23 drawing particular attention.

Reports indicate Slovakia’s remarkable achievements in low-altitude economy, where its next-gen flying cars transform into aircraft in 80 seconds, and light sport aircraft models enjoy strong global sales. Zhejiang is establishing itself as a hub for low-altitude economy, with plans to construct over 150 drone takeoff/landing sites by 2027. Shaoxing’s Xinchang district has already launched 158 low-altitude flight routes, progressively forming a comprehensive industrial ecosystem. Accordingly, enterprises from both sides actively engaged in business matching and negotiations during the exhibition.

 

 

A multi-engine hybrid aircraft developed by Diamond Aircraft Austria, a Wanfeng Group subsidiary. Photo by He Yuankai

 

 

The comprehensive exhibition achieved professional-grade standards

Journalists observed that this year’s China-CEEC Expo demonstrated enhanced professionalism.

Amid the global digital intelligence wave and China’s “AI Plus” initiative, the expo proactively explored new cooperation opportunities by inaugurating a 1,400 sq.m “Digital and Smart Manufacturing of CEEC” zone featuring 37 exhibitors - a first in the event’s history.

The 0.3mm electronic flexible skin, independently developed by Ningbo Yuanxin Electronics, endows robotic dogs with chameleon-like color-changing capabilities, drawing the attention of numerous foreign exhibitors. Companies that previously focused on the domestic market now aim to expand into the CEE region through this exhibition. Meanwhile, AI industry leaders like Unitree showcased robots demonstrating humanoid intelligence in scenarios such as bipedal locomotion and olfactory object recognition.

 

 

Chinese companies’ diverse robotics exhibits garnered strong interest from CEE buyers. Photo by He Yuankai

 

 

Concurrently, CEE’s digital innovations like Austria’s Diamond Aircraft and Serbia’s maritime safety sensors shared the spotlight, showcasing technological excellence while facilitating market expansion and industrial collaboration opportunities in the region.

This year’s expo debuted a dedicated “Charming CEEC” zone, featuring curated displays of sports, tourism, traditional attire, and publications from CEECs.

 

 

Exhibitors from CEECs are organizing their garment/clothing exhibits. Photo by reporter He Yuankai

 

 

On-site, 13 fashion associations, design institutes, and designer brands from Romania, Hungary, and other countries showcased their most striking designs. Students and faculty from Zhejiang Textile & Garment Vocational and Technical College presented an impressive fashion show. The vocational education and industry-academia alliance formed between the college and multiple CEE universities has expanded collaboration from textiles and apparel to cutting-edge fields like intelligent manufacturing.

A series of cultural galas have transformed “face-to-face” interactions into “heart-to-heart” connections, fostering deeper cultural affinity.

Economic and trade cooperation is advancing toward deeper development. To advance cooperation towards industrial chain collaboration, over 50 “compact yet refined” thematic exhibitions were successfully held, including: the “CEE Commodity Procurement Signing Ceremony”, the “‘Enchanting Silk Road • Flavorful Future’ Trade Matchmaking Forum”, the “Goose Down Industry Symposium”, and the “New Energy Vehicle Industry Matchmaking Session” leveraging Ningbo’s automobile industry strengths.

“These ‘compact yet refined’ specialized exhibitions not only facilitate the import of more CEE products but also accelerate Zhejiang enterprises’ global expansion,” stated Professor Jin Xiangrong from Ningbo University’s CEE Economic Cooperation Research Institute, noting this approach fosters bilateral investment, trade growth, and industrial advancement.

 

 

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          Disclaimer：The above content is translated from Chinese version of Tide News. The Tide News version shall prevail.