Trade, business with Central, Eastern Europe on the rise

Meira Hot, vice-president of Slovenia's National Assembly, emphasized that cooperation between China and Slovenia aims to extend beyond the exchange of goods, reflecting a broader commitment to long-term partnership.

She said China's recent decision to grant visa-free entry to Slovenian citizens has further strengthened people-to-people exchanges, while efforts such as the Belt and Road Initiative continue to create new avenues for collaboration.

Amid profound changes in the international landscape and growing challenges to global economic development, Jiang Yu, special representative for China-CEEC Cooperation under China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said China remains committed to being a contributor to global development and a defender of the international order.

"China will continue to pursue high-quality development and advance high-standard opening-up, while promoting mutually beneficial cooperation with countries around the world, including those in Central and Eastern Europe, to share development opportunities and bring greater stability and certainty to the global economy," said Jiang.

Zhao Zenglian, vice-minister of the General Administration of Customs of China, said a growing variety of agricultural and food products from the CEEC have entered the Chinese market, generating new opportunities for CEEC businesses and providing Chinese consumers with a broader selection of high-quality options.

A total of 126 types of agricultural commodities from 14 Central and Eastern European countries have been granted market access to China, with 3,430 overseas agricultural businesses registered to date, Customs data showed.