Deals inked to boost relations with Croatia

Premier calls for more imports from Balkan country to help balance trade

China and Croatia signed agreements to promote cooperation in areas including commerce, agriculture, tourism, technology, sports and the digital economy, with Premier Li Keqiang and his Croatian counterpart Andrej Plenkovic witnessing the event on Wednesday in Zagreb.

The signing ceremony followed their meeting in the capital city.

During their meeting, Li said China is willing to strengthen cooperation with Croatia under the European Union framework and align the Belt and Road Initiative with Croatia's development strategies. China is also ready to expand bilateral trade and investment, and to import more high-quality goods from Croatia to achieve more balanced trade, Li said.

China also supports its companies to participate in Croatia's port and railway projects under market rules, the premier added.

During his visit to Croatia, Li will attend the eighth Meeting of Heads of Government of China and Central and Eastern European Countries. Li said in his meeting with Plenkovic that China-CEEC cooperation plays a vital role in enhancing ties between China and CEE nations and also European integration.

During a joint press event, Plenkovic said this was the sixth time since his becoming prime minister that he met with Li.

Li's visit was of historic significance for bilateral ties and the documents signed establish plans for bilateral cooperation in diverse fields and expand ties in trade, investment and political spheres, he said.

"In our meeting, we reached consensuses to boost cooperation in ports, railways, agriculture, science, education, sports and tourism," Plenkovic said. Last year, Croatia received 250,000 Chinese tourists.

Bilateral ties are seeing new opportunities as the countries' cooperation has proceeded well under the framework of the BRI, the China-CEEC mechanism and China-EU ties, he said.

Li said he was glad to visit the Country of a Thousand Islands for the first time. His visit is also the first by a Chinese premier after the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries 27 years ago.

"We reached consensuses on a large number of issues of common concern, and I hope Croatia is ready to receive more Chinese tourists and provide more goods for Chinese consumers," the premier added.

The two leaders also attended the opening ceremony of the China-Croatia Year of Culture and Tourism in Zagreb on Wednesday.

Li also met with Speaker of the Croatian Parliament Gordan Jandrokovic and Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic.

Late in the afternoon, Li and the Chinese delegation flew to the coastal city of Dubrovnik to attend the China-CEEC leaders' meeting.