On June 8, 2019, the official opening ceremony of the trade exhibition dedicated to the Guest of Honor country Slovakia took place at the first China-CEEC Expo in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province.

The international expo to run from June 8 to 12 is the only national-level exhibition focusing on the China-CEEC cooperation. This year Slovakia and Lithuania are invited as the two main Guest of Honor countries.

The opening ceremony was attended by Chinese and Slovakian officials and representatives including Zhu Congjiu, Vice Governor of Zhejiang Zhejiang, Chen Zhongchao, Deputy Mayor of Ningbo City, Richard Raši, Deputy Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic, and Vojtech Ferencz, 1st State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic.

“Both Slovakia and Zhejiang are key hubs for the BRI construction. The cooperation between the two sides is very broad and the development is prospective,” said Zhu Congjiu while delivering a speech at the ceremony.

This year coincides with the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Slovakia. According to Zhu, the expo will offer the two countries with more cooperation possibilities and investment opportunities. He believes by complementing each other in advantageous industries such as logistics, technology and innovation, culture and tourism, the relationship will reach a new level.

Richard Raši commended the choice of Slovakia as the Guest of Honor of this event and spoke highly of the protocol on exports of milk products from Slokavia to China signed just a month ago in Dubronvnik. Apart from promoting the fine Slovak food, he promoted the technological innovations developed in his country.

“I hope we can show you all, that Slovakia, although having only over 5 million inhabitants, is a country that can attract the world and is worth the attention,” said Richard Raši. He showed confidence that together with representatives of 25 Slovak companies, they will soon find their way to the biggest world market.

With a theme of “Deepening Opening up and Cooperation for Mutual Benefits”, the first China-CEEC Expo invites many important guests from the governments of Slovakia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, etc., and 2,000 buyers, exhibitors and investors from international organizations, multinational corporations, research institutions and private groups.

It will also hold important activities such as Zhejiang Belt and Road Construction Promotion Conference and Foreign Enterprise Roundtable. Topics such as Belt and Road construction, optimizing business environment, investment cooperation, trade facilitation, and imports increase will be discussed.