Ningbo, June 6 (Zhejiang Daily) – The press conference for the first China-CEEC Expo & International Consumer Goods Fair was held in Ningbo, east China’s Zhejiang Province on the afternoon of June 6, 2019. It was reported that the China-CEEC Expo, which has been elevated to a national level this year, will kick off in Ningbo from June 6 to 8, 2019.

Reportedly, the event has attracted over 3,000 overseas officials and businessmen, among whom 17 are at or above the vice-ministerial level. It is worth mentioning that Slovakia will arrange a special plane to fly directly to Ningbo. Richard Raši, Deputy Prime Minister of Slovakia, will lead a delegation to participate in the expo. In addition, more than 6,700 professional purchasers from 22 countries and regions have registered for the expo.

According to Li Guanding, Vice Mayor of Ningbo, the conference will create a platform for policy and information release, and a ground for enterprise docking transactions. Various conferences, forums and investment negotiations will be launched during the event.

"The conference will launch a number of trade matchmaking activities for the products from Central and Eastern Europe. Five comprehensive trade matchmaking meetings and ten professional matchmaking meetings will be held, covering nearly 10 categories of CEEC products. It is expected that the value of the import transaction and intended deals will see a prospective increase,” said Li.

Fang Liqun, Deputy Director of the Department of Commerce of Zhejiang Province, introduced the highlights of the China-CEEC Expo, “After being elevated to a national-level international event, the China-CEEC Expo's designing at the top level shows some new changes.”

The new changes are reflected in the following two aspects. First, exhibition halls with richer Chinese connotations are set up, including the exhibition halls of industrial parks and cities in the Yangtze River Delta Region, Ningbo Maritime Silk Road and 5G technology, etc. Moreover, the Guest of Honour countries, theme provinces and cities will promote economic and trade exchanges and cooperation through project promotion, product display, and cultural exchanges.

In recent years, economic and trade exchanges between the provinces and cities in the Yangtze River Delta Region has witnessed tighter interactions, Fang told the media. The organizing committee of the expo has done a lot of work in inviting purchasers from the region.

"Against the background of the China-U.S. trade friction, we hope that the expo will become a channel for the Yangtze River Delta enterprises to expand the international market," said Fang.

(Executive Editor: Yongliu He)