In Sofia, Bulgaria, he attended the seventh leaders meeting of China and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, known as the 16+1.

Trade between the world's second-largest economy and CEE countries increased by 15.9 percent last year to $68 billion, according to China's Ministry of Commerce.

In Berlin, Premier Li and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will co-chair the fifth China-Germany intergovernment consultation.

Trade with Germany, which is China's biggest European economic partner, increased by 11 percent last year to $168 billion.

At the epicenter of some of this increased trade with Europe is Chongqing, the municipality in Southwest China with a population of more than 30 million.

Once seen as being at the wrong end of the mighty Yangtze River, which links the city with Shanghai, it is developing into one of China's most important trade hubs, which is having a regenerative effect on the country's entire western region. In 2017, Chongqing's GDP grew at 9.3 percent, significantly higher than the 6.9 percent nationally.

Not only does Chongqing have road and rail links to Europe through Central Asia, but it is also linked to Southeast Asia through the Southern Transport Corridor, which links Chongqing by rail to Qinzhou Port in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, providing a gateway to Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore.

As a result, Europe also has a land connection now to Southeast Asia, with Chongqing as the vital link.

At the center of all this activity is the Liangjiang New Area, which occupies 1,205 square kilometers in Chongqing. It was the third State-level economic development zone of its kind when created in 2010.

In the meeting room of the new area's headquarters in the Jinshan building on Jinyu Avenue, Li Guang, the 55-year-old vice-president of the Liangjiang New Area Investment Invitation Group, says the European connection is very important now for Chongqing.

"The railway connection has been very important for development here. Goods can be transported in and out of Chongqing, and we have become a logistics hub for goods from the rest of China and also from Southeast Asia to Europe. We are building a new transferring center here to facilitate this. It is all part of the opening-up of the west of China as part of China's Belt and Road Initiative."

Chongqing International Exhibit and Trading Center is located in Chongqing Lianglu-Cuntan Free Trade Port Area. Zeng Yong / For China Daily