The largest ever Chinese delegation to visit Croatia arrived in Zagreb on Monday the 30th of May to attend a business summit organized by the Chinese Embassy in Zagreb, the Croatian Chamber of Economy (HGK) and China's Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT). The representatives of more than 50 companies from the Chinese region of Zhejiang met their counterparts in Croatia in order to explore new business opportunities, develop stronger economic relations and expand cooperation between these two countries.
The region of Zhejiang with a population of over 54 million is also known as the 'Land of Fish and Rice' and introduced the 'Zhejiang model' which combines supporting small businesses and entrepreneurship whilst undertaking large investments in public infrastructure.
The Chinese companies from this region previously cooperated with Croatian companies in the fields of tourism development, cultural education, shipbuilding and harbour construction. Today they cover a spectrum of industries such as trade, communications, chemicals, energy, car-making, electronics and food industry. The most famous company is Alibaba the biggest Chinese online store.
Croatia and China had trade worth 585 million Euros in 2014 with Croatia importing eight times more goods from China than exporting to it.
A vice president of CCPIT Wang Jinzhen said that economic cooperation between China and Croatia was getting stronger and that Croatia had the biggest chance in tourism.
''Chinese people travel more and more these days. In a few years China will 'produce' around 100 million tourists and that is a great opportunity for Croatia. You have to make your beautiful coastline more accessible to Chinese people'', commented Mr Jinzhen.
The outstanding geostrategic position of Croatia as well as developed infrastructure in the country was also emphasized at the summit as one of the country's advantages in the faster transportation of goods.
Luka Burilovic president of the Croatian Chamber of Economy (HGK) said that two countries could achieve major cooperation in many fields and pointed out that HGK was to open its branch in Shangai.
