Expanding past and potential relations

"Latvia as a business partner for China", a report issued in May, was conducted by KPMG Baltics SIA in cooperation with the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia, which is known as LIAA, and the Latvia-China Business Council.

According to LIAA, as of 2015, bilateral trade had reached 520 million euros ($576.9 million), with an increase of 13.7 percent, year on year. China ranked 13th among Latvia's trading partners.

Latvian representatives also consider China to be a target country for the diversification of Latvia's external markets. Cooperation with China has strong potential for trade in goods and services, for transport and logistics, as well as for investment.

China's investment in Latvia is also growing steadily. According to the Chinese Embassy to Latvia, China's new investment in the Baltic nation last year was 2.47 million euros, with an increase of 74.6 percent over 2015. Latvian dairy and fish products have successfully entered the Chinese market, marking a major breakthrough.

(China Daily 11/07/2016 page10)