Moldova Photo: CFP

 
Due to its strategic geographical positioning, the Republic of Moldova could become a favorable business and investment incubator, but also a transit area for Chinese goods toward the EU market, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova Vladimir Bolea told the Global Times in an exclusive interview.

Bolea also expressed his country's interest in the Belt and Road Initiattive (BRI). He said that through the BRI, the Republic of Moldova could revitalize railway transport in the country, rebuild public roads, and build new roads, allowing for the interconnection of Moldova with the great world economies.

Bolea will visit China from Wednesday to Sunday, during which time he will visit Beijing, the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and Shanghai. In the first half of this year, due to the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, reports of the tense situation in Moldova once flooded the international media. Some public opinion pieces even claimed that Moldova might become "the next Ukraine." Analysts pointed out that against this backdrop the West is also stepping up its efforts to cozy up to Moldova.

Will the changes in the region and the evolving geopolitical landscape affect Moldova's attitude toward China? During the interview, the deputy prime minster stressed that the country values cooperation with China and commended the BRI that China proposed.

He told the Global Times that this is the second time that he will be visiting China. For him, China is a surprising country in all kind of ways and the country presents a mix of the modern and the ancient with its great history presented through countless architectural masterpieces, and the country's economic development makes it extremely attractive for sustainable cooperation.

He also noted that bilateral relations between China and Moldova have a history of more than 30 years and the relations have always been based on mutual respect, openness, consensus, and were a priority for Moldova. China also presents an important sales market for Moldova.

He gave examples that both countries could have broad opportunities for cooperation in areas such as agricultural products, wine, agricultural infrastructure, renewable energy and information technology.

Moldova borders Ukraine and the country has long been considered to be on the European geopolitical fault line, that is, in the geopolitical seam between Russia and the West. After the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out, some analysts voiced concern that the country would become another frontier for the full-scale confrontation between Russia and NATO and it would completely be one-sided in favour of the US.

During the interview with the Global Times, Bolea said that due to its strategic positioning, the country could become a favorable business/investment incubator, and a transit area for Chinese goods toward the EU market.

"Through the BRI, the Republic of Moldova could revitalize the railway transport in the country, rebuild public roads, but also build new roads, allowing for the interconnection of our country with the great world economies, but also with the EU market, he said.

He stressed that in this context, cooperation between China and the Republic of Moldova has broad prospects, while the cooperation modalities are flexible and diverse.