Summary: "An Open Door" - Chinese and Central and Eastern European Ent

Source: Xinhuanet 2025-05-26 14:35

The 4th China-CEEC Expo and International Consumer Goods Expo concluded on the 25th. At this expo, nearly 1,500 domestic and foreign enterprises gathered in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, an important port on the Maritime Silk Road. They took advantage of this significant platform for China to continuously promote high-level opening up to exchange ideas, explore opportunities and deepen cooperation.

Exhibitors said that against the backdrop of the current rise in unilateralism and trade protectionism, China has demonstrated an open attitude to the world and injected certainty into the global economy. There is great potential for China and Central and Eastern European countries to strengthen economic and trade ties and deepen cooperation.

In the consumer goods exhibition hall of Central and Eastern Europe, a wide variety of wines occupy a large share of the market. More and more exhibitors are doing their homework specifically for the Chinese market. Slovak craft brewer SRO made its debut on the Chinese stage. Igor Laktos, the promoter, enthusiastically introduced to the reporters, "I know there are many types of Baijiu in China and I'm not so fond of European spirits. We focus on the niche premium market and specially launch 'alcohol-free wine' and special wines that are suitable for drinking with hot water."

Jotao Laszlo, a well-known Hungarian online blogger, has spotted the opportunities and potential of the huge Chinese market and hopes to find partners in China. His self-created chocolate brand has special products with less sugar added, which are suitable for Chinese consumers who like "not too sweet chocolate".

Economic and trade cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries is entering a "two-way fast lane". Data shows that since 2012, China's trade with Central and Eastern European countries has grown at an average annual rate of 8.8%, and China's imports from Central and Eastern European countries have grown at an average annual rate of 7.4%, both higher than the growth rate of China's foreign trade during the same period. In 2024, the bilateral trade volume reached 142.3 billion US dollars, setting a new historical record and increasing by 6.3% year-on-year.

Slovakia and Slovenia are the guest countries of honor at this expo. In recent years, due to factors such as the economic downturn in Germany and the weak demand for automobiles in Europe, Slovenia's automotive, glass, furniture, and metal industries, which are highly dependent on the EU industrial chain, have suffered significant impacts. The continuously expanding and opening up of the Chinese market has enabled Slovenia to see new development opportunities.

Dejan Zrnek, the deputy mayor of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, who has visited China several times, said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency that the China-CEEC Expo is like "an open door", and Slovenia looks forward to expanding new channels for external cooperation and hopes to cooperate with China in industries such as automobiles.

In addition to traditional consumer goods, some Central and Eastern European enterprises have also brought a considerable number of high-tech products. Nine Slovak low-altitude economy enterprises came to Ningbo to participate in the exhibition. Their products covered aviation instruments, simulators, flying cars, etc. They also made on-site connections and explored cooperation opportunities with Chinese enterprises and industrial parks at the theme promotion meeting organized by the Ningbo Municipal Government.

The China-CEEC Expo also opens the door of opportunities for Chinese "intelligent manufacturing" to enter the Central and Eastern European market. This year's expo has added a "Digital Intelligence in Central and Eastern Europe" section, introducing China's most cutting-edge new quality productivity products such as AI robots to the Central and Eastern European market.

Yan Jiafang, a representative of Zhichang Technology Group, a local AI robot enterprise cultivated in Ningbo, introduced that the company brought its flagship products such as flexible manufacturing embodied intelligent robots and AI controllers based on sensing, computing and control integration this time, hoping to showcase the level of digital and intelligent empowerment of Chinese enterprises through the expo platform.

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