The Food Industry, Natural Cosmetics, and Tourism Have Further Opened the Doors to the Chinese Market

President of the Croatian Chamber of Economy (HGK) Luka Burilović and CCPIT President Jiang Zengwei ceremoniously signed a Cooperation Agreement between HGK and CCPIT, which will deepen the already very good cooperation between the two institutions.

– The Croatian and Chinese business communities are significantly different in size, but there is significant room for cooperation, especially in certain business niches such as the food industry, natural cosmetics production, and tourism, which last year recorded a 43 percent increase in the number of Chinese guests arriving in Croatia, emphasized HGK President Luka Burilović at a meeting with a delegation from the China Council for Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), led by CCPIT President Jiang Zengwei.

The presidents of HGK and CCPIT ceremoniously signed a Cooperation Agreement between HGK and CCPIT, which will deepen the already very good cooperation between the two institutions.

– Among the main goals of HGK is the internationalization of the Croatian economy, and China is of particular importance to Croatia. The Chamber is in the process of opening a representative office in Shanghai, which is expected in June this year, and this will be the third representative office of HGK in the world, alongside Brussels and Moscow, which shows how important China is as a trading partner for us, emphasized Burilović, adding that HGK and CCPIT are partner institutions that have been cooperating well for many years at both the national and county chamber levels.   

Cooperation between Croatia and China is also important within the framework of the 16 plus 1 group, which, along with China, gathers countries from Central and Eastern Europe, and it needs to be focused on the areas of the strongest sectors, including trade, investments, agriculture and forestry, inspection and control, etc.

– Croatia has good and quality food products, and it is important to timely resolve the current stagnation in cooperation regarding cheese and meat products in order to obtain the necessary certificates, said the HGK president, emphasizing the importance of mutual cooperation in the fields of science, technology, research, innovation, etc.

– Croatia and China are friendly countries, but we need to work more on the economic front because last year’s trade amounted to 586 million USD, of which only 6.8 percent was Croatian exports to China, while the rest was imports from that country. Chinese investors are interested in entering the Republic of Croatia, and the Croatian ports of Rijeka and Ploče are of strategic importance, said Burilović, noting that HGK will provide all possible assistance to Chinese investors for investments in the Republic of Croatia.

He also announced the Croatian-Chinese Investment and Trade Forum in Zagreb at the end of May and in June a delegation at the 2nd Investment and Trade Fair of China and 16 Central and Eastern European countries in the Chinese city of Ningbo.   

CCPIT President Jiang Zengwei emphasized the interest of the Chinese economy in enhancing and increasing business cooperation with the Croatian economy, which will be contributed to by the signed Cooperation Agreement between CCPIT and HGK. The potential is particularly pronounced in the areas of tourism, transport, science and technology, but also for increasing the placement of Croatian food products in the Chinese market. He also highlighted the possibilities of Chinese investments in the Croatian market.

– CCPIT and HGK  have traditionally very good relations, and the Cooperation Agreement between the two institutions will contribute to even better cooperation. CCPIT can help Croatian companies in entering the Chinese market and through the organization of seminars and information on trade and investment opportunities, said the CCPIT president.