Closer ties good for business, conclude China and Austria

Countries benefiting from increased trade volume, worth about $9.75 billion in 2018

China and Austria will continue to diversify economic cooperation and build stronger trade ties in 2019 to develop the Belt and Road Initiative and the Central and Eastern Europe market, said experts and officials.

"The enhanced trade ties between China and Austria will bring a win-win situation as China has a profound market for imports from Austria, which can raise local employment," said Sang Baichuan, director of the Institute of International Economy at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.

Sang said both countries have space to expand trade and investment, and deepen cooperation in fields including advanced manufacturing, modern service, environmental protection and urbanization this year.

Trade volume between China and Austria jumped 16.2 percent year-on-year to about $9.75 billion in 2018. China remained one of Austria's top five trade partners. The others are Germany, Italy, the United States and Switzerland, data from the Ministry of Commerce show.

China exports mainly construction machinery, computers, transport equipment, chemical products, raw materials, electronics, textiles, garments and household appliances to Austria. Austrian shipments to China include auto and machinery parts, power-generating equipment, general industrial machinery, measuring and control instruments and textile fibers.

Austria's location in the center of Europe, its innovation-based economic model, and supportive policies to develop markets related to the Belt and Road Initiative can be used for cooperation with China, said Yin Zonghua, vice-chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

"Austria can provide expertise via infrastructure solutions to the application of the BRI, such as in transport, logistics, green technologies and energy solutions," said Gu Xuebin, vice-president of the Beijing-based Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.

He said Austrian technologies can be exported to China, ranging from automation, nanotechnology, robotics, green technology, aspects of healthcare such as nursing, to more local industries such as wood and woodbuilding, and even cable cars. Austrian technologies can also help China prepare for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Eager to enhance their development, China and Austria agreed to establish a Sino-Austrian strategic partnership and signed 11 intergovernmental cooperation documents in tech innovation and BRI development last April. This created more opportunities for Chinese companies to enhance economic links with Austria.

There are many activities in high-tech cooperation between companies. Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies and Austrian Federal Railways announced in February that they have strengthened their partnership to advance digitalization on the railway.

The Austrian railway operator will team up with Huawei to develop innovative solutions that will optimize the operational efficiency while offering passengers more security and comfort.

The two sides will install a pilot system in Austria to test solutions for various elements of railway operations. They have been working together in digital transformation since 2016.

Christian Sagmeister, head of the railway systems division at Austria's largest mobility service provider, said that further digitalization will benefit both its passengers and business clients.

Wang Jun, a researcher at the Beijing-based China Center for International Economic Exchanges, said Austria has close connections with Central and Eastern Europe countries. Austrian businesses have also been leading investors in CEE countries and have established a market network there.

Attracted by this, Chinese companies such as China Electronics Technology Group and China Railway Rolling Stock Corp's Zhuzhou branch set up their European headquarters in Austria. Bank of China has established a branch in Vienna over the past several years.

Official data from the Ministry of Commerce show Austrian investment to China amounted to $2.14 billion by the end of 2018 and Chinese companies invested a total of $1.04 million in Austria by the end of last year.

zhongnan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/26/2019 page30)