Romanian Prime Minister Visits China
A Romanian Government delegation, led by Prime Minister Victor Ponta, is on an official visit in China,
Bogdan Matei, 01.09.2014, 13:28
One of the world’s largest manufacturing countries, China has the status of world banker. Due to the world economic crisis of the past years, the West moved past its ideological differences with the communist regime in China in order to establish trade and economic ties with Beijing. There are a number of political leaders from the West who issue respectful statements to their partners in Beijing. Romania has had excellent and long-lasting relations with China.
Ever since the communist period, Bucharest distanced itself from Moscow, and established a cordial relationship with Beijing, which lasted even after the communist regime ended. Today a member of NATO and the EU, Romania is still a friend of China. 2014 marks 65 years of bilateral diplomatic relations with China and 10 years since the signing of a detailed cooperation partnership.
Prime Minister Victor Ponta is in China for the second consecutive year and his visit comes as a response to the one made by his Chinese counterpart to Romania in 2013, occasioned by the China-Eastern and Central Europe Forum. At the time Romania and China signed 13 memorandums, mostly in the field of energy, which led to Chinese investments worth over 5 billion euros in the Romanian market.
The main topic on the agenda of the visit is economic cooperation between Romania and China. On the sideline of official meetings, a meeting was organized between the representatives of the main Chinese companies and banks operating in Romania or planning on investing in this country. Accompanied by Ministers of Regional Development, Transport, Energy and Agriculture, Prime Minister Ponta scheduled a visit to a technological park and meetings with representatives from the fields of IT, car parts, car manufacturers and bio products.
The Prime Minister’s agenda also includes common projects in the fields of education and culture. Ponta, who announced he is running for office in the Presidential elections in November, also went to China to discuss politics with the Chinese head of state, Xi Jinping and the Parliament’s president, Zhang Dejiang.
