A roundtable conference for the ambassadors of central and eastern European countries (CEEC) to China was held in Harbin, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, on Jun 17.
Ambassadors from 10 CEEC including Croatia, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Hungary, Montenegro, Serbia, Latvia, Bulgaria, Estonia, and Slovakia, as well as Ambassadress Ms. Huo Yuzhen, Special Representative for Cooperation between China and CEEC, attended the conference.
Themed "window of ice city, conversation with ambassadors", the conference aimed to provide a platform for communication, mutual cooperation and development.
CEEC ambassadors held discussions on 17+1 cooperation and future cooperation with Harbin. They talked about their own countries' investment, economic and trade environment and how their countries would like to partner with others in the future.
They suggested establishing a cooperation platform for culture, entrepreneurs, trade and the economy, and science and technology.
Huo said that China-CEEC's 17+1 has great potential and the platform is beneficial to China's provincial cities, including Harbin, increasing their cooperation with CEE countries and their cities, she said.
Harbin, the northernmost provincial city in China, located in the center of Northeast Asia, has an open market with 36 sister-cities in 28 countries, among which 6 are from CEEC.
Harbin has since 2012 sent 37 government representative groups (around 200 people) to visit Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Serbia, Romania, Latvia, and Lithuania. Harbin delegates this year visited Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia to attend the China-Partner Country of Mostar Fair 2019 and the China-CEEC Business and City Cooperation Forum.
In healthcare, 69 medical students from CEEC are studying acupuncture acupressure in the Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine. And this year an agreement was signed between Latvia's Daugavpils University and Harbin's the First Hospital.
Meanwhile, Harbin and CEEC send cultural groups such as song and dance ensembles and acrobatic and martial arts troupes to each other every year and have increased partnership work in industries like music, education, fine arts, and physical cultures.
The event was hosted by the Harbin Municipal People's Government and undertaken by Harbin Foreign Affairs Office.