Premier Li's Hungary visit invigorates China-CEEC ties

By Rabi Sankar Bosu

The 6th Summit of Heads of Government of China and Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC), referred to as "16+1," will be held in Budapest, Hungary on November 27. The 2017 China-CEEC Summit under the theme of "deepening economic, trade and financial cooperation for win-win development" has marked the return of the "16+1" to Hungary, after having hosted a summit of economy and finance ministers in 2011.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, who is on an official visit to Hungary from November 26 to 29, is scheduled to attend the 6th China-CEEC summit. Prime Minister Viktor Orban welcomed Premier Li on the tarmac of Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport on November 26. According to an article published in The Hungarian Times, Premier Li has vowed to bring cooperation between China and the CEEC and relations between China and Hungary to a higher level. Surely, this year's summit is set to broaden and deepen cooperation between the two sides. China's "Belt and Road Initiative" of ports, railways and roads to expand trade across Asia, Africa and Europe is expected to be one of the themes of the "16+1" summit.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is welcomed by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and other senior officials upon his arrival in Budapest, Hungary, Nov. 26, 2017, for an official visit to the country and the sixth meeting of heads of government of China and 16 Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC).[Photo: Xinhua]

Premier Li's visit to Hungary is an important diplomatic event by a Chinese leader after the successful conclusion of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) held last month. The China-CEEC summit coincides with the fifth anniversary of the formation of the "16+1 cooperation" and is of great significance for expanding the in-depth development of that cooperation, and of advancing the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership.

It is worth noting that the 16+1 format is an initiative by China aimed at intensifying and expanding cooperation with 11 EU Member States and 5 Balkan countries in the fields of investment, transport, finance, science, education, and culture. At the first 16+1 Summit, held in Warsaw, Poland, in April 2012, then Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao announced a comprehensive initiative on cooperation with 16 Central and Eastern European countries, entitled "China's Twelve Measures for Promoting Friendly Cooperation with Central and Eastern European Countries," which is the framework document for the 16+1 format.

It can be said that the formation of the 16+1 Cooperation framework is one of the most important achievements of China's diplomacy. Over the past five years, China rediscovered different CEE countries, those countries rediscovered China, and common interests have drawn China and the CEEC closer. In the words of Zhang Ming, Ambassador Extraordinary, Plenipotentiary and Head of Mission of China to the European Union, "The 16+1 Cooperation has delivered benefits to its members and has become a highlight of China-Europe cooperation as a whole."

During the past five years, China and 16 CEEC countries have built a partnership featuring openness, inclusiveness and mutual benefit. They have developed synergies between 16+1 Cooperation and the EU-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership through different platforms and projects, such as the EU-China Connectivity Platform, the Trans-European Networks (TEN-T), Adriatic-Baltic-Black Sea seaport cooperation, the Budapest-Belgrade railway, the 16+1 financial holding company, the 16+1 interbank consortium and the "Belt and Road Initiative."

China's Assistant Minister of Commerce Li Chenggang said in a November 21 press briefing on Li's attendance at the Budapest Meetings and Visit to Hungary, "Bilateral economic and trade cooperation has entered a fast lane, with a large batch of major projects including infrastructure, connectivity and financial cooperation being steadily advanced and successively completed, which marks that the cooperation has entered the mature period and harvest time."

Bilateral trade between China and CEEC rose to 58.7 billion U.S. dollars last year, up 11 percent from 2011. China's imports from CEEC have risen 21.9 percent. Chinese investment in CEEC is now over 9 billion US dollars while CEEC invested 1.4 billion dollars in China. Data also show that the number of China-Europe freight train lines, since inception in 2011, has increased to 39. In 2016, there were 1 million tourists between China and CEEC, while the number of Chinese tourists visiting the 16 countries tripled compared to 2015.

China is now promoting economic cooperation projects under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative which has become a public good welcomed by the international community and will provide sustained dynamism for world development and prosperity. The CEEC make up nearly one fourth of the countries along the Belt and Road. There are promising opportunities for the CEEC and Europe in the China-led Belt and Road Initiative. The 350-kilometer Budapest-Belgrade line is a cooperation "flagship project" under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative between China and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

Regarding China-Hungary relations, since diplomatic ties were established 68 years ago, friendship and cooperation have always been the main theme of relations between the two countries. This year on May 13 in Beijing, President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Orban upgraded bilateral relationship to a full-scale strategic partnership. On China-Hungary ties, Li said, "I'm looking forward to discussing with the Hungarian side about cooperation and jointly fleshing out the content of the China-Hungary comprehensive strategic partnership."

As a reliable partner of China, Hungary is the first European country that has established and started the Belt and Road working group mechanism with China, which signified a successful joining of the China-proposed initiative with Hungary's "opening to the East" policy.

Last year, against a backdrop of bleak global trade figures, the trade volume between the two countries was $8.89 billion, a rise of more than 10 percent year-on-year. Last year, Hungary's exports to China hit $3.46 billion, with year-on-year growth of 20.5 percent. Hungary is China's biggest investment destination in Central and Eastern Europe, with combined investment surpassing $4 billion creating about 10,000 local jobs.

China's economy has contributed more than 30 percent on average to global growth for the past four years, and it will continue to be one of the main engines of the world economy in the years ahead. China is committed to deepening comprehensive reforms and opening its doors wider to the world. Based upon the principles of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, China and the 16 CEE countries should work hand in hand to strengthen practical cooperation in various fields. Surely, Chinese equipment, European technology and CEEC markets combined will be a great model for cooperation between China and CEE countries.

(Rabi Sankar Bosu, Secretary of New Horizon Radio Listeners’Club, West Bengal, India)