Belt and Road Initiative opportunity for China-EU cooperation

In Lithuania, the Baltic country's government and China Merchants Group signed three memoranda of understanding earlier in May aimed at further strengthening economic cooperation between the two countries.

According to China Merchants Group representatives, a logistic corridor between Asia and Europe, via Lithuania, should be created in the future.

"We have made clear that our future cooperation with the Lithuanian side will include investment and operation of seaport, cooperation on railways and logistics, and cooperation on cross-border free trade zone," the Chinese delegation told Xinhua.

According to Lithuania's economy ministry, Chinese aggregated foreign direct investments in Lithuania amounted to 2.18 million euros ($2.39 million) in 2014.

Taking Romania, which is an eastern European country, as an example, it also welcomes Chinese investment, as Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta told Xinhua that energy and high-speed railroads are essential projects.

Romania, he added, as any other EU country, aims to expand cooperation with China and welcomes Chinese investments in the Central and Eastern European region.

Romania's ambition to become energy independent to export part of its production requires huge investments.

According to industry estimations, there is a need to invest around 3-4 billion euros every year until 2030 to modernize and maintain existing power plants, transport and electric infrastructure, said Eric Stab, chief of GDF SUEZ operations in Romania.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker recently told Xinhua in an interview that the Belt and Road Initiative will bring more benefits for European nations that are hungering for investment.

The Belt and Road Initiative covers countries and regions with a total population of 4.4 billion and a total economic volume of $21 trillion, 63 percent and 29 percent respectively of the world's total.