Conference was attended by more than 300 representatives from more than 20 countries, business and industry associations and enterprises, including CSEBA. Mr. Ma Guoxiang, founder of the forum and a member of the CPPCC National Committee welcomed all the delegates for the first time in Beijing and wished them mutual benefits under the “Belt and Road” initiative, and successful cooperation in trade and cultural exchanges.
“China’s first and second tier cities enjoy developed cooperation with many countries”, Ma said, “but China welcomes more international enterprises in third and fourth tier cities, which offer much market opportunities.” Ma also invited Chinese enterprises to invest into foreign countries under “Belt and Road”, especially in tourism projects and hotel construction.
In his speech and presentation during the forum, CSEBA’s President Mario Rendulić presented several cooperation opportunities for Chinese and international enterprises in the region of Southeast Europe. He highly praised the organization and arrival of a high number of delegates and high members of National People’s Congress.
Zhou Hanmin, member of the standing committee of the CPPCC National Committee, said that “Belt and Road” is and open, mutually beneficial road towards international cooperation. Since the starting of the initiative, China largely contributed to the economic development, especially in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. As a result, China's contribution to world economic growth in 2016 and 2017 accounts with around 33%. In the three years from 2014 to 2016, China's total investment in the "Belt and Road" countries reached USD 51 billion, in total 49 countries. 56 economic development zones were set up and 180,000 jobs were created during the process, creating USD 1.1 billion in tax revenue.
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