Ningbo,Zhejiangprovince,hostcityfortheChina-CentralandEasternEuropeanCountries(CEEC)Expo,hasnotonlyfacilitatedcooperationintradebutalsoexpandedittomoreareas.

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ThethirdChina-CEECExpokickedoffinNingboonTuesday,revolvingaroundthetheme"Practicalcooperationforasharedfuture".Theeventincludes27activitiesandhasattractednearly3,000exhibitors,morethan10,000buyersandsome100,000visitors.Over10billion-yuan($1.43billion)purchaseordersforCEECproductsareexpectedtobemadeduringtheevent.

Hungaryistheguestofhonorcountryofthisyear"sexpo.AdelegationledbyPeterSzijjarto,Hungary"sministerofforeignaffairsandtrade,attendedtheopeningceremonyonTuesday.

SzijjartostressedthattheexampleofHungaryprovesthatthereismuchtobegainedfromfairandconstructivecooperationwithChina.

JanosHajdu,generalmanagerofabeefprocessingfactoryinHungaryisleadingathree-personteamtotheexpo.Althoughit"sthefirsttimethebusinesshasattended,itsbeefproductshavealreadyreachedtheNingbomarket.

InJuly,NingbolaunchedacharteredbusinessflighttoEurope.SunChonglong,executivedirectorofNingboLianbangChangyunInternationalTradeCo,tooktheflighttoHungaryandplaceda$200millionorderforbeefatthefactory.

Around30containersofbeefareshippedmonthlyfromHungarytoNingbo.Someofthebeefistransportedtowholesalersandprocessingplants,whilesomeissoldthroughanonlineshoppingplatformlaunchedbytheNingbomunicipalbureauofcommerce.Ithasbecomeabest-sellerontheplatform.

Inrecentyears,NingbohasbeenbuildingitselfintothefirstchoiceforCEECtoexportgoodstoChinesemarkets.Thecityhascoordinateddepartments,includingcommerce,port,andcustoms,tohelptradersinthosecountriessolveproblemsandfacilitatetrade.

Lastyear,Ningbo"simportsfromCentralandEasternEuropereached11.2billionyuan,amorethannine-foldincreasefrom2016.Meatproductsaccountedformorethanone-thirdofChina"stotalmeatimports.Inthefirstquarterofthisyear,Ningbo"simportsfromtheregionincreasedby102percentyearonyearto4.39billionyuan.

AstheChina-CEECBusinessCooperationDemonstrationZone,Ningbohasalsoexpandedcooperation.Asoftheendoflastyear,176projectswithtwo-wayinvestmentexceeding$1billionhadbeenreachedbetweenNingboandCEEC.

InApril,theChina(NingboYuyao)-CEECIndustrialCooperationForumwasheldinBudapest,Hungary,duringwhichfiveprojectsrelatedtohigh-endmanufacturing,informationtechnology,biomedicineandvirtualrealityweresigned.TheNingboCEEC(Budapest)InnovationCenterwasalsolaunchedattheforum.

Tourismandeducationalcooperationarealsoontracktobeimplemented.

ThecitysaiditwilllaunchanewdirectflighttoBudapestattheendofMay,andmoreCEECtravelproductswillberolledoutinthenearfuture.

Morethan90collegesinCentralandEasternEuropehavecooperatedwithNingbo,withmorethan1,000teachersandstudentshavingworkedandstudiedinthecity.

OnestudentisStoyanValentinovGegovskiofBulgaria.HavinggraduatedfromNingboUniversityin2022,hestartedhisbusiness—ZhejiangYiliuCulturalCommunicationCo—inNingbo.ThecompanyaimstopromotecultureandtourismcooperationbetweenNingboandCEEC.

"IrecommendtheRoseValleyinBulgariaandtheancientRomantheater.AndIbelievethatmoreChinesetouristswouldliketofindoutmoreaboutCentralandEasternEuropeancountriesinthefuture,"hesaid.