ZAGREB, November 24, 2018 – Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and Chinese Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan met in Zagreb on Friday and called for stronger economic cooperation between the two countries, notably for more Croatian exports to China and more Chinese investments in Croatia, a government press release said.
Plenković highlighted the importance of intensifying bilateral cooperation, which has gained momentum after the Chinese CRBC company was selected to build the Pelješac Bridge and after the recent opening of work on a wind farm near the northern coastal town of Senj, in which the Chinese company Norinco is investing 160 million euro, the biggest Chinese investment in Croatia.
Plenković and Sun also discussed preparations for a summit of China and 16 Central and Eastern European countries (China+16) which is due to take place in Dubrovnik next spring, shortly after the Chinese premier visits Croatia.
They called for stronger cooperation in the economy and trade, which has reached about a billion US dollars. In light of Plenković’s recent visit to China to attend the country’s first international import exposition in Shanghai, special emphasis was put on the further growth of Croatian exports to China and the growth of Chinese investments in Croatia.
Plenković and Sun welcomed the growing number of Chinese tourists visiting Croatia, which is expected to reach about 250,000 this year, and expressed their satisfaction with the pace of development of cooperation in education and healthcare following the signing of the programme for cooperation in education for 2018-2022 and the plan for cooperation in healthcare and medicine for 2018-2020.
The Chinese Vice-Premier also met with Croatia’s Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Marija Pejčinović-Burić, and she also attended an event celebrating Croatian-Chinese cooperation in the sports sector.
For more on the recent improvement of the Croatian-Chinese relations, which has reportedly caused some concern among those worried about China’s growing influence in central and eastern Europe, click here.
