Within the 16+1 format, there is a huge number of activities, meaning “there is no area that is not covered,” emphasized State Secretary Bušić, who is also the coordinator for this initiative.
She added that Croatia needs to see for itself where it can succeed best and find its niche.
Croatia has recognized the opportunities to strengthen overall relations with China through the 16+1 platform, Bušić emphasizes. This is an extremely important element of Croatia’s hosting of this gathering.
Prime Minister Andrej Plenković announced at the 16+1 initiative summit last week in Sofia that Croatia has been awarded the hosting of the next summit. As a result, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will officially visit Croatia next year.
Bušić highlighted that for Croatia, both politically and in every other sense, the visit of the second person of one of the world’s largest powers, accompanied by a large economic delegation, represents a significant achievement. She reminded that Prime Minister Plenković and Li have already met bilaterally three times, at summits in Riga, Budapest, and Sofia.
She believes that Croatia was awarded the hosting because “a lot of positive things coincided,” and China, as the leader of the initiative, noticed that in its relations with Croatia over the past two years, it has “realized a whole series of very successful activities.”
Of course, one of the key elements was the contract for the construction of the Pelješac Bridge awarded to the Chinese.
“I think that project was very important, perhaps one of the key reasons,” said Bušić.
The contract for the construction of the Pelješac Bridge was signed on April 23 between representatives of Hrvatske ceste and the Chinese consortium China Road and Bridge Corporation, with 85 percent of eligible costs financed from EU funds.
At the summit in Sofia, Prime Minister Plenković stated that now is the time for a breakthrough in the modernization of railway transport and that Croatia is ready to cooperate with China on larger projects in this context.
This primarily concerns the revitalization of Croatian ports and strengthening the connection between Rijeka and Zagreb and Budapest. Croatia can offer an additional route for Chinese goods so that they would arrive at the markets of the European Union and Southeast Europe in a significantly larger proportion than today via Rijeka or Zadar.
In the Port of Zadar, there is already private Chinese investment, as was the case with Rimac Automobili and in Krapinske Toplice, and recently Končar signed a joint venture with the Chinese side.
“All of these are indicators that in the last two years, since our more intensive work in the 16+1 format, Croatia has become more visible to the Chinese who are increasingly coming with their capital and investment initiatives,” believes Bušić.
Tourism, Small and Medium Enterprises
The idea of a platform for cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries was born after their first economic and trade forum in 2011 in Budapest. The summit in Croatia will be the eighth in a row, with previous ones held in Bucharest, Riga, Belgrade, China, Budapest, Sofia, and China.
The summit is expected to take place in the first half of the year, it is learned, and given the large number of participants and significant logistical needs, it is expected to be held in the Croatian capital.
The fact that the summit will be held in Croatia – and the activities of the Chinese premier are being extensively covered in the local media – will bring greater visibility to Croatia, which is important for tourism, says Bušić.
Last year, there was a recorded increase in the arrival of Chinese tourists by more than fifty percent compared to the previous year, and this year Croatia expects another increase and visits from more than 200,000 tourists.
Dubrovnik will host the conference of tourism ministers from 16+1 from September 18 to 20.
The Croatian Chamber of Economy (HGK) has opened an office in Shanghai, and the Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ) intends to do the same.
In order to strengthen tourism cooperation between the two countries, we place great emphasis on introducing direct air routes. Croatia hopes to realize this soon, emphasized Bušić.
Additionally, Bušić emphasizes that Croatia is also the holder of the Coordination Mechanism for 16 countries for small and medium-sized enterprises.
The 16+1 initiative, alongside China and Croatia, includes Bulgaria, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Serbia.
Bušić points out that with the help of the 16+1 platform, some countries have made significant projects. Moreover, a large part of them has increased trade exchange with China while also reducing the trade deficit with that country.
China, a global power with over 1.3 billion inhabitants, has recently begun to show strong interest in strengthening investments in Central and Eastern Europe.
This initiative is considered by China to be an integral part of its megaproject One Belt, One Road, a kind of modernization of the Silk Road and one of the most ambitious projects in the world.
