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At the invitation of Prime Minister Victor Ponta of Romania and Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Premier Li Keqiang of the State Council will attend the China-Central and Eastern European Countries Summit in Romania, pay an official visit to Romania and attend the 12th Prime Ministers' Meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Member States in Uzbekistan from November 25 to 29.

Chinese premier leaves Beijing for visit to Romania, Uzbekistan Chinese Premier Li Keqiang left Beijing Monday morning for a visit to Romania and Uzbekistan. Li will pay an official visit to Romania and attend a China-Central and Eastern Europe leaders' meeting there as guest of his Romanian counterpart Victor-Viorel Ponta. He will also attend the 12th prime ministers' meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states in Uzbekistan at the invitation of Uzbek Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyaev.

More: China to help Romania high-speed rail China, Hungary, Serbia reach agreement on railway project Chinese premier arrives in Bucharest for visit, summit with CEE leaders Chinese premier urges closer cooperation with Central, Eastern Europe Li calls for multi-pronged efforts to advance China-Romania friendship, cooperation Li's landmark trip to boost China's ties with Romania, CEE: envoy Chinese premier to attend China-CEE summit Li's visit to boost China-Romania cooperation: senior officials Premier Li's Euro-Asia trip to boost cooperation, common development

Highlight: It will be the first visit by a Chinese premier to Romania in 19 years and also Li's first visit to the Central and Eastern Europe since he took office in March.

Agendas

Location	Time	Counterpart	Agenda
Romania's Bucharest	Nov. 25-27	Victor-Viorel Ponta	Romania state visit Premier Li Keqiang will hold talks and meet with Romanian leaders to jointly draw up a plan for bilateral cooperation in various fields and advance the sustained, sound and steady development of China-Romania relations. China-Central and Eastern European Countries Summit Premier Li Keqiang will elaborate on China's framework measures on promoting cooperation with Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC), have an in-depth exchange of views with leaders of the 16 CEE countries on the improvement of cooperation and meet respectively with CEEC leaders.
Uzbekistan's Tashkent	Nov. 28-29	Shavkat Mirziyaev	12th prime ministers' meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organization(SCO) member states Premier Li Keqiang will expound on China's policy on deepening practical cooperation across the board within the SCO and have an in-depth exchange of views with leaders at the meeting on enhancing the development of the SCO and promoting regional peace, stability and development. Premier Li Keqiang will also meet with leaders of relevant countries.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Sino-CEE relation

Trade between China and the 16 CEE countries amounted to $45.4 billion during the first 10 months this year.

Chinese companies' investment in CEE countries has exceeded $3.5 billion, and investment in the opposite direction has topped $1.1 billion.

The 16 countries are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia. Eleven of them are members of the European Union (EU).

Sino-Romania relation

As China's time-honored friend, Romania set up diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China (PRC) on Oct. 5, 1949, four days after the PRC was founded. It also devoted great efforts to the restoration of UN membership for the PRC in 1971.

Bilateral trade in 2012 amounted to $3.78 billion, up from just $3 million in 2000. China's current total investment in Romania exceeds $160 million, while Romania's investment in China stands at $280 million.

Romania's exports to China stood at $360 million in 2008, while in 2012, the number surged to nearly $1 billion.

Key role: Located in the northeast of the Balkan Peninsula, Romania is the eastern gate to the EU. The practical cooperation between China and Romania helps to promote cooperation between China and Europe.

Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta said earlier this year that China's development could benefit the world, and his country was willing to be China's best partner in Europe and play a positive role in promoting China-CEE cooperation and China-EU relations.

Responses

Li's visit to boost China-Romania cooperation: senior officials China and Romania are traditional friends, said Vice Foreign Minister Song Tao at a news briefing, adding that it is the common aspiration of both nations and peoples and in line with their interests to boost substantial cooperation. Stressing that China and Romania are highly complementary in their economies, Song said the two nations could fully exert their advantages to deepen cooperation in areas such as infrastructure, energy and agriculture.

Chinese premier's "historic" visit to Romania to boost Sino-EU ties: Romanian PM Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's upcoming visit to Romania and the China-Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) leaders' meeting will further bolster the cooperative ties between the two sides, Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta said on Thursday. "Premier Li Keqiang's trip to Romania will be a historic one," Ponta told Xinhua in an exclusive interview. "The fact that prime ministers of 16 central and eastern European countries would gather in Bucharest for the China-CEE leaders' meeting is proof of the strong will of these countries to strengthen our friendly ties with China and further shore up our mutually benefiting economic and trade cooperation," he said.

Commentary

Studio interview: Li Keqiang starts 5-day visit to Romania, Uzbekistan Q1 This is the first visit by a Chinese premier to Romania in almost two decades. What can we expect from this? Q2 Boosting economic ties with Central and Eastern European region also ranks high on Premier Li’s agenda. Tell us about the prospects for cooperation.

Xinhua: Commentary: China, Europe boost cooperation amid economic globalization Out of concerns about geopolitical and security issues and a possible impact on European integration, Western European countries, or the so-called "Old Europe," may be worried about cooperation between China and "New Europe." Li's visit to lift China's ties with Romania, CEE countries The economies of China and Romania are highly complementary. China is experienced in areas including infrastructure construction, energy and manufacturing, while Romania, dubbed "Europe's barn," has an edge in agriculture. It is hoped that Li's visit could serve as a catalyst for the two countries to make full use of their respective advantages to deepen the win-win cooperation and refresh their traditional bond. Chinese premier to attend China-CEE summit Ruan Zongze, vice president of the China Institute of International Studies, said the meeting, which Li will attend as premier for the first time, will enhance mutual understanding between China and CEE countries. Ruan said China's new leadership has kept the promise to share development opportunities with CEE countries by implementing signed agreements on cooperative projects. Cooperation between China and CEE countries "conforms with each side's respective development features and needs for cooperation," Song said, describing such cooperation as reciprocal and win-win.  Li's foreign trip aims to tap overseas markets, achieve multi-win Analysts said Li's "economic diplomacy" will not only help domestic enterprises curb their excess industrial capacity, but also benefit both sides, as China and CEE countries could complement each other with cooperation. It is time that China's economic diplomacy should focus "more on exploring global markets, building a healthier global trade system and forging more positive economic partnerships so as to create a favorable external environment for the country's economic transition and industrial upgrading," said Zhu Feng, deputy director of the Center for International & Strategic Studies at Peking University. Premier Li's Euro-Asia trip to boost cooperation, common development Experts predicted that the upcoming meeting will achieve greater progress in implementing signed agreements within the organization and enhancing practical cooperation among member states. The progress will boost economic development and integration in the region and lay a solid foundation for safeguarding regional stability, experts said. Wen Wei Po: With favorable geographic locations and conditions for industry, Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries are new emerging markets whose future demand for developing infrastructure will be huge.  China is their most important trade partner in Asia. While CEE countries endure the continuing pressure of economic crisis, China is experiencing a critical period of economic growth. This will lead the two sides to further strengthen economic and trade cooperation more than ever before.  chinanews.com: Ruan Zongze, vice president of the China Institute of International Studies Though the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has made great strides in fighting terrorism, the situation in Afghanistan is closely linked to peace in the greater region. As foreign troops withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of 2014, instability may grip the country. Therefore, strengthening cooperation in security efforts will be a primary focus of the upcoming SCO prime ministers’ meeting. According to Gao Yusheng, China's former ambassador to Uzbekistan, the two main objectives for the meeting are to implement the Bishkek consensus and promote projects aimed at improving networks for transport, energy and telecommunications in the region.

Background

●Recent foreign visits of Chinese new leadership:

Time	Leader	Visiting countries	Report
Oct9 –Oct 15	Premier Li Keqiang	Brunei,Thailand, Vietnam	Li Keqiang starts first Southeast Asia visit
Oct 2 - Oct 8	President Xi Jinping	Indonesia, Malaysia	Xi Jinping attends his first APEC summit
Sep 3 - Sep 13	President Xi Jinping	Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan	Xi tours Central Asia between G20, SCO summits
May 31 - Jun 8	President Xi Jinping	Trinidad and Tobago, Costa Rica, Mexico, US	Xi visits Latin America, meets Obama in US
May 19 - May 27	Premier Li Keqiang	India, Pakistan, Switzerland, Germany	Chinese Premier Li Keqiang starts first foreign visit
May 9 - May 12	Vice President Li Yuanchao	Argentina, Venezuela	VP's visit to advance ties with Argentina, Venezuela
Mar 22- Mar 27	President Xi Jinping	Russia, Tanzania, South Africa ,the Republic of the Congo	Xi's foreign debut illuminates China's "world dream"

●About Romania
Location: On the Balkan Peninsula in Southeastern Europe
Territory: 238,391 square km
Capital: Bucharest
Ethnic majority: Romanians
Population: 21 million
Official language: Romanian

●About Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation creation of which was proclaimed on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai (China) by the Republic of Kazakhstan, the People’s Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan. Its prototype is the Shanghai Five mechanism.

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Web editor: wangnan1@globaltimes.com.cn