Strengthening ties

Ningbo has reported expanding trade volume with CEEC over the past few years. In 2017, trade volume between the city and CEEC increased 23.5 percent year-on-year to $2.92 billion, which accounted for 4.3 percent of the overall trade volume between China and CEEC, according to the Ningbo Commission of Commerce.

The CEEC commodities exhibition and trade center, which runs throughout the year in the Ningbo International Convention and Exhibition Center, has 15 national pavilions established by countries such as Poland and Hungary, with more than 3,000 goods from CEEC on display.

Albania will launch a national pavilion during the 2018 China-CEEC Investment and Trade Expo in June, according to Ningbo officials.

Ningbo has become one of the largest CEEC goods trade and distribution hubs in China. It has also launched CEEC goods distribution centers in other cities in China to boost trading ties.

Bilateral investment between Ningbo and CEEC has also been booming in recent years. By the end of 2017, CEEC established 79 investment projects in Ningbo. In return, the city launched 46 investment projects in CEEC. The 125 projects cover a wide variety of fields such as auto parts, photovoltaic energy, education, pharmaceuticals and tourism.

The Sino-CEEC (Ningbo) Industrial Park in the city has been launched and the first phase of construction completed, with some of the projects agreeing to be based there.

Hungary and Latvia have opened business representative offices in Ningbo to promote trade and strengthen cooperation with China.

Better communications

Cultural exchange has long been seen as a way to promote mutual understanding between regions. The Bulgaria-Chinese Culture Center, designed to promote cultural exchange between the two countries, opened in Ningbo last November.

Local authorities have arranged a series of tourism activities over the past three years, so that locals could learn more about CEEC. Statistics from the city's tourism administrators show that more than 6,800 people have traveled to CEEC by participating in those activities. Over the past three years, more than 1,000 people from CEEC have visited Ningbo as members of friendly delegations.

As of the end of March, sister-city relationships have been established between Ningbo and 20 cities in CEEC. A total of four vice-premiers, 47 ministerial-level and 65 state-level officials from CEEC have visited Ningbo in the past four years.

The city received approval to build the 16+1 Economic and Trade Demonstration Zone in 2017. The plan was unveiled in the Budapest Guidelines For Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries last year.

Ningbo has set the goal to become a starting point for CEEC products when they first enter the Chinese market, a top destination for bilateral investment cooperation and the best place to promote Sino-CEEC cultural exchanges in China.

According to city officials, Ningbo will also promote digitalization and facilitate more trade, build a CEEC products distribution system and construct youth startup and innovation centers in CEEC to further support 16+1 cooperation.

"Ningbo will pay closer attention in sectors such as trade, investment and culture to enhance the level of China-CEEC cooperation," Zhang said. "Ningbo will take its responsibilities and explore replicable ways for other regions in China to support 16+1 cooperation."