C H I NA DA I LY nation 3 T U E S D A Y, D E C E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 1 4 LI’S VISIT SCO urged to cut trade barriers Premier: Country hopes to help bloc improve their economies By ZHAO SHENGNAN zhaoshengnan@ chinadaily.com.cn By QIN JIZE in Astana and ZHAO YINAN in Beijing China proposed to help Shanghai Cooperation Orga nisation countries upgrade their resourcebased econo mies with advanced industrial equipment and financial sup port to hedge against the impact of plunging oil prices and geopolitical uncertainties. The organiza Inside tion’s six mem See more, bers — China, page 9 Russia and four Central Asian countries — signed deals to deepen cooperation in cus toms, law enforcement and a multilateral economic and trade outline on Monday, fol lowing the 13th prime minis ters’ meeting of the bloc in Astana, Kazakhstan. Premier Li Keqiang called upon the organization to cut trade barriers, improve the effi ciency of customs and open market access among the orga nization’s members. He also announced the start of the selection of projects for the $5 billion ChinaEurasia coopera tion fund. Economic growth in Central Asia will continue to decelerate in 2015, hit by deepening geopo litical tensions between Russia and Ukraine, the International MonetaryFundsaidlastmonth. “China is willing to cooperate with all the members in the organization in the same way as we are working with Kazakh stan,” Li told government heads at the meeting on Monday. “The PANG XINGLEI / XINHUA Premier Li Keqiang and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev (center), Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov (second left), Tajik Prime Minister Kokhir Rasulzoda (second right), Kyrgyz Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev (first left) and Uzbek First Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Azimov (first right) attend the 13th prime ministers’ meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Monday. state members are in a transi tional period to sustain growth while restructuring the econo my. We’d invest in steel, cement, electricity and the deepproc essing of resources to help local economies while transferring China’s overcapacity.” The regional bloc, founded by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, contains three fifths of the Eurasian continent and onefourth of the world’s population. Afghanistan, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan are observers, and Belarus, Tur key and Sri Lanka are dialogue partners. Total economic output of the region took up 14.9 percent of the world economy, compared with just 4.8 percent in 2001. China’s trade with the other five state members jumped from $12.1 billion in 2001 to $130 billion dollars in 2013. At Monday’s meeting, Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov said that as the Kazakh government tries to reduce the side effects of the international economic turbu lence through strengthening cooperation with state mem bers of the SCO, Beijng’s pro posal to build a Silk Road Economic Belt is particularly favorable to the region. Xing Guangcheng, a researcher at the Chinese Acad emy of Social Sciences, said security and economic coopera tion are the two wheels of the regional bloc, and tumbling energy prices, geopolitical ten sionandloomingdeflationhave compelled regional members to join hands to prop up growth. “But such cooperation remains underdeveloped com pared with their exchanges on regional security. Opportunities lie in Beijing’s proposal to build a Silk Road Economic Belt, as well as in the fact that, as the world’s secondlargest econo my, China can serve as the gate way to the Asia Pacific region for othermemberstates,” Xingsaid. Contact the writers through zhaoyinan@ chinadaily.com.cn CHINA’S TRADE WITH CENTRAL, EASTERN EUROPE Unit: billion dollars Albania $0.487 (2012) Serbia builds more bridges with China Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic Estonia Hungary Latvia $0.112 $1.9 $1.5 $17.38 $1.31 $8.41 $1.38 (2013) (2012) (2013) (2013) (2013) (2013) (2012) Before becoming the Ser bian ambassador to China less than two months ago, Milan Bacevic was the minis ter of natural resources, min ing and spatial planning in Belgrade. His title has changed, but one mission has not: seek ing Chinese investment, especially in infrastructure. Bacevic’s endeavors in that field will be boosted by Premier Li Keqiang’s trip to Serbia on Monday, the first by a Chinese premier to the Balkan country in 28 years. During his visit, Li was due to meet with the Serbi an president and prime minister, and he will repre sent China at a meeting with leaders from Central and Eastern European countries. “A great number” of agreements will be signed during the Serbia trip, cov ering areas including infra structure, civil aviation, energy, finance, agriculture and education, Bacevic told China Daily in Beijing recently. “We welcome more Chinese companies to come and invest in Serbia.” Among Central and East ern European countries, Ser bia has the largest number of joint infrastructure pro jects with China, he said. A major transport infrastruc ture and logistics center is expected to be established in Belgrade, he said. Bacevic highlighted the construction of a 1.5km bridge by China Road and Bridge Corp over the Dan ube, Europe’s secondlong est river, which flows through Serbia. Li is expect ed to attend the completion ceremony for the bridge in Belgrade. Connectivity is also high on the agenda of the leaders’ meeting, as infrastructure was damaged during the conflicts of the 1990s. A “new breakthrough” is expected to be made with the BelgradeBudapest Rail way that China is building with Serbia and Hungary, Bacevic said. Estonia $13.36 (2013) Albania $19.12 (2014 estimate) $53.05 (2013) $57.86 (2013) $198.37 (2013) $24.48 (2013) $137.228 (2014 estimate) $32.82 (2014 estimate) $45.93 (2013) Latvia Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Lithuania Estonia Estonia Poland Hungary Poland Romania Hungary Latvia Czech Republic Lithuania Slovakia $10.78 (2013) Macedonia $5.95 (2013) Montenegro $513.93 (2013 estimate) $189.65 (2013) $68.6 (2013) $101.81 (2014 estimate) $46.85 (2013) Macedonia POPULATION (million) 3.02 (2014 estimate) 3.87 (2014 estimate) 7.59 (2013) 4.33 (2013) 10.51 (2013) 1.34 (2013) 9.88 (2014 estimate) 1.99 (2014 estimate) 2.96 (2013) 2.1 (2013) Montenegro 0.65 (2011) Hungary Romania Croatia Romania Serbia Bosnia and Herzegovina Slovakia Serbia Slovenia 38.48 (2014 estimate) Poland Slovenia Serbia Slovakia Bulgaria Republic Republic Lithuania Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatia Czech Croatia Czech Latvia Albania Bulgaria Slovenia 21.3 (2013) 9.3 (2013) 5.42 (2013 estimate) 2.06 (2013) Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov, a fluent Mandarin speaker, studied in China and headed a trad ing operation in Hong Kong. While addressing business leaders from both countries on Sunday, Mas imov welcomed China’s representatives in Manda rin. “A Chinese saying goes that friendship is priceless,” he said, to much applause. Premier Li Keqiang said he admired Masimov’s lan guage proficiency, and add ed he was inclined to learn Kazakh, to bring the two countries closer together. Masimov hosted an exclu sive breakfast with Li on Monday morning in an Albania $1.81 (2013) $0.172 Montenegro $0.103 (2013) Sources: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Xinhua News Agency (2013) Poland Romania Serbia Slovakia $14.81 $3.78 $0.612 $6 $1.82 (2013) (2012) (2013) (2012) (2012) Slovenia LIU LUNAN / CHINA DAILY The countries agreed to build the railway, the first crossborder infrastructure project in the Central and Eastern Europe, last year. China has already con firmed its constructive role in the region, especially since the region has a high need for infrastructure, and China has the financial resources, knowhow and experience to help achieve the goal, Bacevic said. Li’s visit will also promote relations between China and the European Union, he said, adding that Serbia can play a key role in that proc ess and with regard to Bei jing’s proposed trans Eurasia Silk Road Economic Belt. Serbia, which is situated at the crossroads between central and southeast Europe, is an EU candidate country. Its free trade agree ments with the EU and Rus sia, among others, offer access to a substantial mar ket for Chinese companies that invest in the landlocked nation. “Li’s visit will be impor tant for Serbia’s foreign poli cy priority — its EU path — because China’s position as a major power is important for both Serbia and the EU,” he said. Astana hotel where the Chinese delegation was based. Li presented a gift to Masimov: The Due Proc ess of Law, a book that was jointly translated by Li and his classmates when he studied at Peking Uni versity. Masimov, like Li, holds a doctoral degree in economics, and said he would treasure the book. Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakh President Exception for Li Macedonia Macedonia SERBIAN AMBASSADOR TO CHINA Gift to Masimov Montenegro Lithuania MILAN BACEVIC tidbits Mandarin speaker GDP (billion) Li’s visit will be important for Ser bia’s foreign policy priority — its EU path — because China’s position as a major power is important for both Serbia and the EU.” The Due Process of Law, a book that was jointly translated by Premier Li Keqiang and his classmates when he studied at Peking University Kazakh President Nursul tan Nazarbayev usually does not meet guests dur ing the weekend, but he made an exception for Li on Sunday. The two lead ers talked for 90 minutes via simultaneous interpre tation, instead of the more common consecutive inter pretation which leads to conversation gaps, to save time and cover as many issues as possible. At the end of the meeting, Nazar bayev said he was impressed by Li’s efficiency and pragmatic approach. ZHAO SHENGNAN