Premier Li: China-CEEC cooperation beyond expectation

In the past six years, China and Central and Eastern European countries have achieved win-win outcomes with beyond-expectation achievements, Premier Li Keqiang said on Saturday at the opening ceremony of the eighth China-CEEC Economic and Trade Forum in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Trade between the two sides increased by 6.5 percent per year on average in the past six years, accounting for 11 percent of China-Europe trade from previous 9.3 percent, Li said. The trade volume increased to about $ 70 billion from $ 40 billion.

China has made $ 10 billion investments in CEE nations, which have invested $ 1.4 billion in the world's second-largest economy, the premier said. About 9,000 trains of China-Europe Railway Express ran between the two ends, he said. About 1 million tourists travel between China and CEE nations each year.

China-CEEC cooperation has achieved win-win outcomes to boost their development and benefits for their people, the premier added.