Ningbo, Zhejiang, Aims to Create "Golden Channel" for China-CEE Economic and Trade Cooperation by Organizing Major Expo and Establishing Demonstration Zone

The 4th China-CEEC Expo will be held in Ningbo, Zhejiang, soon. As China's first China-CEEC Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Zone, Ningbo continues to deepen and expand economic and trade collaboration with Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC). Last year, Ningbo's import and export volume with CEEC reached RMB 56.13 billion, triple the 2017 figure. In the first quarter of this year, the import and export volume hit RMB 15.29 billion, marking a 19.8% year-on-year increase. Ningbo, a millennia-old port city, has become a strategic hub for enhancing China-CEEC cooperation.

Chen Weijun, Executive President of the Procurement Alliance of CEEC Commodity, revealed that leveraging direct intercontinental flight from Ningbo to Budapest, the alliance has reached a strategic cooperation with SF Express to achieve "dropshipping delivery within the next day." High-value goods from CEEC can complete customs clearance within three days of arrival and will be ready for pickup on the fourth day. "The alliance now has more than 120 member organizations, and has built warehousing networks in Poland, Romania, and beyond. Links of the entire supply chain collaborate 'hand in hand' to further widen this 'golden channel'," Chen noted.

This "golden channel" shows the innovative breakthrough of Ningbo's government-enterprise cooperation. Ningbo Customs pioneered the "One-stop Service for Imports from CEEC," realizing a "one-stop" guide to the entire import process. The China-CEEC Customs Information Center—the first of its kind—has been operational for four years, compiling and publishing 20,200 bilingual (Chinese/English) articles on customs policies and related topics. Its website has received over 3.1 million visits. Ningbo Customs operates the "Green Channel" for agricultural and food imports from CEEC under China's General Administration of Customs, with sustained policy benefits from platforms like the China-CEEC Customs Information Center and the China-CEEC Sanitary and Phytosanitary Consulting Liaison Point. Last year, Ningbo imported agricultural products worth RMB 230 million from CEEC, marking a 13-fold increase from a decade ago. The import volumes of dairy products and wine increased 71-fold and 3-fold, respectively, over the same period. M&E product imports hit RMB 6.66 billion, a 53-fold increase from a decade ago.

Moreover, a host of distinctive platforms of Ningbo, such as the Procurement Alliance of CEEC Commodity, Central and Eastern Europe Youth Innovation Center and the Central and Eastern European Specialty Commodities Perennial Pavilion, have continuously deepened and expanded innovative measures for convenient sourcing and increasing import product ranges to further improve the quality of bilateral trade. For instance, the Central and Eastern European Specialty Commodities Perennial Pavilion in Ningbo has been operational for 10 years. The 32,000-square-meter emporium of goods from CEEC hosts over 70 specialized traders and 37 national pavilions, featuring nearly 5,000 unique products. Meanwhile, leveraging nationwide retail networks for specialty goods from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), Ningbo has expanded market penetration channels and steadily cultivated a loyal consumer base for CEE goods.

Capitalizing on the demonstration zone's advantages, Ningbo actively carried out "bringing in" and "going out" to further strengthen the synergy of the industrial chain and supply chain between China and CEEC.

In April, China's Ministry of Commerce held the Hungary-China Trade and Investment Forum in Hungary. Wang Lingjun, assistant general manager of Zhejiang Portex Logistics Technology Co., Ltd. went to Hungary to attend the meeting. "Our clear objective is to promote China-Europe Express (CEX) route from Ningbo Zhoushan Port to Europe among CEE businesses," stated Wang Lingjun.

On December 30 last year, the Ningbo Zhoushan Port-Wilhelmshaven CEX service was successfully launched, establishing the "fastest route" from the Yangtze River Delta region to Europe. As a "point-to-point" direct route, CEX reduces cargo transit time to just 26 days—12 days faster than conventional methods.

"If the route extends to Hungary, Poland, and other regions through multimodal transport, the entire journey would take just 30 days, cutting the time-space distance between Ningbo and CEE by one-third," said Wang Lingjun. At the Trade and Investment Forum, numerous Hungarian firms showed keen interest.

Ningbo is a key manufacturing hub in China, and its smart manufacturing capabilities are forming a synergistic effect with the material cost advantages of CEEC. A group of powerful Ningbo enterprises has established sales networks and production bases in CEE. Lu Lingxia, a representative from Minth Group, shared with reporters that since 2021, Minth Group has invested in and built 6 factories in Serbia over three years, directly generating 3,500 local jobs, and achieving revenue of RMB 700 million in 2024. (Yu Jindong, Reporter of Economic Daily)

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