China offers financial firm for CEE projects
Print Edition
CHINA is proposing a financial firm to fund projects in Central and Eastern Europe, Premier Li Keqiang said yesterday.
Li told officials from 16 Central and Eastern European countries gathered for a regional summit in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, that China is “ready to work with all parties to explore the possibility of setting up a 16+1 financial company to support cooperation.”
Li dangled the offer of cheap Chinese funds from both the government and commercial banks to the area, which has lagged behind more prosperous nations in the western part of the continent.
“We can provide financing for Central and Eastern European countries in line with your needs,” he said at the fifth economic and trade forum between China and CEE countries.
“As long as these projects use Chinese products and Chinese equipment, China is willing to provide low-cost financing support.”
The country’s biggest lender, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and the government policy-directed China Export Import Bank, which serves as an export credit agency, would spearhead efforts to boost lending, Li said.
But he played down the possibility of competition with other multilateral organizations, such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, saying Chinese financial institutions were encouraged to “strengthen exchanges and cooperation.”
Win-win cooperation
China enjoys broad cooperation prospects with CEE countries and should accelerate win-win cooperation, leaders from the two parties said.
Trade between China and the 16 CEE countries exceeded US$60 billion last year amid sluggish global economic growth with impressive expansion in the past five years, indicating tremendous trade and investment potential, Li said.
Stressing CEE countries could be centers of strength amid the economic slowdown in Europe, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called on China and CEE countries to further develop potential and expand cooperation in new areas.
Li called for the acceleration of connectivity projects to link regional transportation and Internet infrastructure development with the China-proposed Belt and Road initiative.
China is willing to invest in the construction and upgrading of infrastructure in port areas of the Baltic Sea, the Adriatic Sea and the Black Sea to boost cooperation and connectivity.
Polish President Andrzej Duda told the forum that the ambitious Belt and Road initiative will bring benefits both to China and CEE countries.
Infrastructure construction will offer more cooperation opportunities between Poland and China, as the CEE countries are the only way traveling from China to Europe, Duda said, adding that Poland, as Eurasia’s logistics center, is vital in promoting Sino-European trade.
The two parties will speed up development of a railway running through Belgrade and Budapest to connect China, Hungary and Serbia, with the flagship project potentially starting soon.
Meanwhile, China will support CEE countries in their industrial upgrading with its advanced capacity in automobiles, steel, machinery and other sectors, Li said.
Trade in the agricultural sector will be another key cooperation field and China will support the import of quality produce from CEE countries through activities such as expositions, according to Li.
He called for more support and involvement of small and medium-sized enterprises in bilateral investment and trade to tap their wisdom and proposed setting up an innovation platform to serve bilateral cooperation of SMEs.
Li reassured the leaders that the Chinese economy is resilient with huge market potential and will maintain sustainable growth with ongoing structural reforms.
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