National Business Daily:

Recently, intensive bilateral exchanges have taken place between China and Central and Eastern European countries, with leaders from multiple countries visiting China and numerous exchange events held. Could you please provide an overview of China's trade with Central and Eastern European countries in the first half of the year? Thank you.

Wang Jun:

Thank you. I would like to invite my colleague, Mr. Lyu, to answer your questions.

Lyu Daliang:

Thank you for your question. In 2012, China and Central and Eastern European countries established a cross-regional cooperation mechanism, which has effectively promoted deeper and more substantive cooperation in various fields. On June 29, the SCIO held the fourth dialogue between spokespersons of China and Central and Eastern European countries. Participants exchanged views on topics including press releases and modernization, and reached the Beijing Consensus. In the field of economy and trade, the trade volume between China and Central and Eastern European countries has maintained growth for 10 consecutive years. In the first half of the year, the total trade value reached 580.12 billion yuan, an increase of 11%, which is equivalent to 3.7 times that of the same period in 2012. Specifically, there are several notable features as follows.

First, the integration of trade and investment has yielded significant results. In recent years, Chinese companies have successively established automobile production and R&D bases in countries like Serbia and Poland, while investing in and building multiple battery factories in countries like Hungary. In the first half of the year, China's imports and exports of automobiles and auto parts with Central and Eastern European countries totaled 59.53 billion yuan, and imports and exports of lithium batteries totaled 30.01 billion yuan. In the field of artificial intelligence, Chinese companies are collaborating with Serbia to build humanoid robot production bases, jointly embracing the intelligent era.

Second, infrastructure has provided strong impetus. Under the Belt and Road Initiative, China has cooperated with Central and Eastern European countries on infrastructure projects such as ports, railways, and highways, helping to enhance regional connectivity. Recently, multiple infrastructure projects undertaken by Chinese companies in Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and other countries have commenced construction, boosting the export of related products. In the first half of the year, China's exports associated with overseas contracted projects to Central and Eastern European countries have more than doubled, among which exports of construction machinery and rail transit equipment increased by 22.3% and 57.3%, respectively.

Third, trade in agricultural and food products has shown strong momentum. Both sides have steadily strengthened exchanges and cooperation in animal and plant quarantine and food safety. Currently, more than 130 types of agricultural and food products from Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries have gained market access to China. In the first half of the year, agricultural trade between China and CEE countries totaled 7.58 billion yuan, up 16.2%. Imports increased by 34.8%, with cocoa products and aquatic products up 57.6% and 36.8% respectively; Exports increased by 11.8%, with walnuts and pet food up 28.3% and 13.7% respectively.

Under the framework of China-CEE Countries Cooperation, the China Customs established the China-CEE Customs Information Center in April 2021. Over the past five years, both sides have maintained close cooperation on customs policy exchanges, trade monitoring and early warning, and consultation services, thereby jointly safeguarding trade security and streamlining customs clearance. Moving forward, we will continue to strengthen cooperation with counterparts in CEE countries, driving the steady and sustained growth of bilateral economic and trade ties. Thank you.