A busy and fruitfuL trip

Premier Li Keqiang has put his effective salesmanship to use in exporting China's manufacturing and technology industries. Whenever he pays a visit to a foreign country, he spares no effort to promote Chinese enterprises to the host country.

According to incomplete statistics by the Paper, a Shanghai-based Internet media outlet, Li earned deals worth about $140 billion for Chinese businesses through his five diplomatic tours in 2014, mostly in the railway industry.

During his tour in Serbia on December 16-19, Li again impressed his Central European counterparts with his efficient and practical working style, as well as China's competitive advantage in infrastructure construction. In less than four days in Belgrade, capital of Serbia, Li held a flurry of meetings with leaders of 16 Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries and sealed a host of deals on economic cooperation and cultural exchange.

Swift and practical

Li's schedule in Serbia was intensive. The premier attended the Fourth China-CEE Economic and Trade Forum and the Third China-CEE Leaders' Meeting. But Li did not limit himself to delivering a speech at the multilateral meeting of China-CEE leaders. Through close talks with the leaders of each CEE country, the premier listened to their ideas on how to further promote China-CEE cooperation.

During the leaders' meeting, participants agreed to enhance connectivity and pledged to continuously improve China-Europe international railway container transportation, encourage relevant parties to facilitate customs clearance, create new logistics routes and hubs, and strengthen cooperation in infrastructure development.

To boost trade and economic cooperation, Li proposed setting up a new framework for joint investment and financing between China and CEE countries as a way to serve the real economy.

After the meeting, China and the 16 CEE countries jointly issued the Belgrade Guideline for their cooperation, citing priorities in the fields of infrastructure, trade, investment, finance, technology and culture.

"The Belgrade Guideline shows that the cooperation between China and CEE countries is practical and broad," said Kong Tianping, a researcher at the Institute of European Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).

Li's fruitful Serbian tour was rooted in the strong demand for infrastructure construction in Balkan countries and China's sufficient funds and experience in the field. The cooperation will have a win-win outcome, Kong said.

Building an express passage

In 2013, Li and CEE leaders reached an action plan at the Second China-CEE Leaders' Meeting in Bucharest, capital of Romania, outlining the blueprint of China-CEE cooperation.

The Belgrade Guideline further upgraded the cooperation mechanism between China and CEE partners, said Liu Zuokui, a researcher at the Institute of European Studies under the CASS. According to him, a highlight of the upgraded cooperation is demonstrated through the agreement on strengthening connectivity.

In Belgrade, Li proposed extending the China-proposed Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road to Central Europe.

The CEE countries possess natural and good quality harbors, which can be used to transport large number of goods if linked with traffic arteries including railways and highways. Both sides can rely on the Hungary-Serbia Railway, the Piraeus Port of Greece and others to create a new channel of rail-sea intermodal transportation between Asia and Europe, Li said.

China and CEE countries will focus on infrastructure construction to boost connectivity and share the benefits of China's ambitious One Belt and One Road initiatives that aim at fostering common development between China, Europe and Asia, Liu said.

On December 17, 2014, China, Serbia, Hungary and Macedonia agreed to build a land-sea express passage that links Piraeus Port in the south and the Hungarian capital of Budapest in the north, stringing the Macedonian capital of Skopje and Serbia's Belgrade.

The planned express passage includes two major projects—the construction of the Hungary-Serbia railway and the expansion of Piraeus Port, the largest harbor of Greece.

Li said that the land-sea express route will be "an extension and upgraded version" of the planned Hungary-Serbia railway running through Belgrade and Budapest to connect China.

It's estimated that the planned land-sea express passage, upon its completion, will save at least seven to 11 days for cargo deliveries between China and Central Europe, compared with the current route.

Chinese and Central European leaders had already started their work on opening a new route a year ago. In November 2013, Premier Li and his Hungarian and Serbian counterparts agreed to rebuild and modernize the old Hungary-Serbia railway during their meeting in Bucharest.

With the help of China's railway technology, the Hungary-Serbia railway will speed up to 200 km per hour from the current 40-60 km per hour. The trip from Budapest to Belgrade will take two and half hours, compared with the current time of over eight hours.

During his visit to Greece last June, Li and Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras made a tour at the container dock of the China Ocean Shipping Co. (COSCO) in Piraeus Port. In a bid to promote the prosperity of the port, the two sides agreed to expand the business of COSCO in Piraeus.

In 2008, COSCO was permitted to obtain franchise rights at Pier 2 and Pier 3 of Piraeus Port. On December 20, 2014, Greece's parliament approved an agreement on expanding COSCO's facilities in Piraeus. According to the newly approved agreement, COSCO will invest 230 million euros ($281 million) in the expansion project of the Pier 3. Upon its completion, the throughput of containers at COSCO's docks will increase to 4.75 million TEUs from 3.16 million TEUs in 2013.

The Greek side has also expressed willingness to sign a customs clearance treaty with China at an early date, which will provide convenient conditions for the throughput in Piraeus.

Indispensable ties

Enhancing economic cooperation between China and CEE countries will be an important supplement to the close ties of China and the EU, said Zhou Yongsheng, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University in Beijing.

"There is a Chinese saying that 'roads must come before wealth.' This clearly demonstrates the importance of infrastructure. Focusing on infrastructure construction and investment cooperation is just one feature of Li's diplomacy," Zhou noted.

The project of the land-sea express passage is very important for Greece, Macedonia, Hungary and Serbia. Furthermore, the passage will further link the Mediterranean and the Danube. As CEE leaders said, the route will enhance regional connectivity and is in line with the interests of the region as well as the EU and the whole of Europe, Zhou stressed.

"With the new route, trade between China and CEE countries will enjoy a significant leap, and transportation will also be more convenient and fast," Zhou said.

According to Zhang Jian, Director of the Institute of European Studies under the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, maintaining sound ties with CEE countries is an indispensable part of China's foreign policy toward the EU. "China treats ties with both CEE countries and the rest of Europe equally," he said.

The EU is China's largest trading partner. China has established a comprehensive strategic partnership with the EU. On November 20-21, 2013, both sides reached the China-EU 2020 Strategic Agenda for Cooperation at the 16th China-EU Summit, which outlines the future development of their ties.

China's further investment in CEE countries will help promote the integration of the EU, Zhang said.

The EU has long been committed to offering aid to CEE countries for economic growth. China's investment in the fields of infrastructure, agriculture and manufacturing will lift the development of CEE countries, advancing the balanced development of Europe as a whole. If Central and Eastern Europe can enjoy fast development, it will bring more opportunities for Western Europe, Zhang noted.

Among the 16 CEE countries, five of them are not yet EU member states. These five countries also have a strong demand to strengthen economic ties with China.

Over the past year, around 80 percent of cooperation items reached by China and CEE countries in the Bucharest Action Plan have been implemented, said Chen Yurong, a senior research fellow and Director of the Department for European-Central Asian Studies under the China Institute of International Relations.

Despite uncertainties in the global economy, China and CEE countries have just begun their cooperation and there is huge potential ahead, Chen said.

Previous China-CEE Leaders' Meetings

Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries include Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia. They cover a combined area of over 1.3 million square km, with a population of 123 million.

- First China-CEE Leaders' Meeting

Warsaw, Poland

April 26, 2012

Leaders of China and 16 CEE countries agreed to view relations with one another from a strategic height and long-term prospective. They also agreed to develop future-oriented friendly partnerships based on equality, mutual respect and benefit.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao put forward 12 measures to enhance relations with CEE countries. He stressed that China's bid to strengthen ties with CEE countries is an important part of efforts to boost China-Europe relations and conform to the interests of all sides.

- Second China-CEE Leaders' Meeting

Bucharest, Romania

November 26, 2013

China and CEE countries issued an action plan and pledged to expand investment and boost infrastructure collaboration.

The countries also agreed to expand cultural and people-to-people exchanges, strengthen communication and coordination on global and regional affairs and broaden common interests.

http://www.ecns.cn/2014/12-29/148563.shtml