Xi Jinping's visit proves Poland's worth as a partner to China

President Xi Jinping's state visit to Poland, just six months after the Polish President's visit to China, is a clear message that Poland is a very important partner for China in Central Europe, says a Polish think tank analyst.

Justyna Szczudlik, an analyst at the Polish Institute of International Affairs, focusing on China, says "this is evidence that bilateral relations on the political and high-level are excellent – political dialogue is regular, very intensive, comprehensive and institutionalised."

She says Poland perceives the Belt and Road initiative as an opportunity to enhance bilateral economic cooperation, which, despite being upgraded to the 'strategic partnership' level in 2011, is still rather modest.

Figures from the International Trade Centre show that the Polish imports from China in 2015 stood at $14.5 billion whereas the exports were $ 2 billion, a trade deficit of over $12.5 billion.

Szczudlik says the initiative will be useful in expanding Polish exports to China as Poland records huge trade deficit, admitting that Poland also sees the One Belt and One Road Initiative as a mean to attract Chinese investments to Poland.

To further strengthen the collaboration between two nations, Szczudlik suggests OBOR can be connected with the Morawiecki Plan which assumes reindustrialisation and improvement of infrastructure in Poland.

"In other words, Chinese capital and technologies could be used in such infrastructural projects like Via Baltica (a road leading through the Baltic States and Poland in Northern Europe), Via Carpathia (an ancient route connecting the Baltic Sea and the Aegean Sea), high-speed trains, and modernisation of sea ports."

Poland was the first Central Eastern European country to join the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as a founding member.

Szczudlik says "Poland's membership in AIIB is a natural implementation of the Polish diplomatic agenda of reinvigorating relations with Asia, especially China. Polish application was another message that Poland consequently "filling" a rather vague concept of the "strategic partnership" with real content."

At the initial stage, the bank might be a source for Polish companies to gain knowledge about Chinese and Asian market whilst in the longer perspective it could be a venue for launching cooperation with Asian counterparts and facilitate the entry into Chinese and Asian markets by Polish exporters, and attracting Chinese investments to Poland, she says.

Although the general political and economic climate in Poland is very welcoming, the stock of Chinese investments in the country is believed to be still very low.

One of the reasons, Szczudlik says, is the semantic difference in investments perception, adding "Poland would like to attract greenfield, brownfield and R&D investments as they create jobs and lead to technology transfer. But China is still interested in the M&A type of investment, which means an access to the existing infrastructure, management resources, and distribution channel."

Szczudlik notes that it seems that Chinese entrepreneurs are not very familiar with the European Union's law, especially the regulations relating to public procurement. In that sense, China is still "learning" Poland's investment conditions and regulations.

"What is more, both sides are waiting for project proposals from the other side, and both countries present a rather reactive and passive approach," she says, adding nevertheless, supposedly this approach is changing – the best example is Poland's projects proposal presented by Polish side during Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs visit to China in April.

President Xi's visit to Poland and Serbia comes only months after he visited the Czech Republic, which was hailed by analysts as "clear evidence that Central and Eastern Europe is no longer on the peripheries of China's foreign policy."

To contact the reporter: wangmingjie@mail.chinadailyuk.com