At the corner of the Balkans, bordering the Adriatic Sea in Southeastern Europe, lies Montenegro, a country that most Chinese people perhaps do not know too much, save for the popular film The Bridge and its even more well-known theme song Bella Ciao.

But for Ningbo, Montenegro is “a good old friend”. Plantaze, a Montenegrin wine producer, is one of the most frequent visitors to the city, participating in Ningbo’s myriad international expos every year since 2015. Even in 2020, when physical exhibitions were suspended because of COVID-19, Plantaze took part in the CEEC Products Online Fair.

Bilateral trade between Ningbo and Montenegro has been greatly facilitated by such exchanges. Statistics show a 12.2% year-on-year increase of Ningbo’s import and export to Montenegro for 2020, of which import grew by a whopping 83.3%. During the 2021 China-CEEC Expo, Plantaze is expected to receive orders worth two million euros for its wine and brandy.

Not only popular Montenegrin products and companies have come to the 2021 China-CEEC Expo, Montenegrin services have also been brought into the fold. For example, PVK Jadran, a top Montenegrin water polo team, joined the online section of the Expo as a part of trade in services. As Montenegro’s most popular sport, water polo has also figured prominently in China-Montenegro relations. In January 2020, the Chinese women’s national water polo team was on a training tour in Europe when COVID-19 struck. As the team was stuck because of the travel restrictions suddenly imposed, it was Montenegro that extended invitations and offered training support. And Montenegrin businesses, schools and its former ambassador to China Darko Pajović donated money and masks to help China fight COVID-19.

“In Montenegro, you can see smiles on everyone’s face. Montenegro people admire China’s development greatly, and they are particularly friendly to Chinese,” said Yan Chunyu, CEO of High Sky Investment Co. Ltd. “When they know I’m from China, they often say to me, ‘we appreciate China’s support,’ and will cheerfully discuss the relationship between the China and Montenegro, which makes me very proud.”

Yan is especially impressed by the Confucius Institute at the University of Montenegro. The institute has trained over 1,000 Montenegrin students since its establishment in 2015, who are instrumental in disseminating Chinese language and Chinese culture in Montenegro. “As an ‘unofficial diplomat’ between the two countries, I will try my best to promote the exchanges between the two sides,” Yan said.