Trade ties with China could turn Slovenia into next European innovation hub: Slovenian official

Slovenia's Economy Ministry official highlighted that the country desires to deepen trade and investment ties with China while attending the ongoing 4th China-Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) Expo and International Consumer Goods Fair in east China's Ningbo.

Matevz Frangez, State Secretary of the Ministry of the Economy, Tourism, and Sport of the Republic of Slovenia, said in an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) on the sidelines of the expo that Slovenia is positioned both geographically and economically as a prime partner for facilitating Chinese trade with Europe.

"I'm pretty much sure that the Slovenian economy, with its advantages, highly innovative, complex, automated, the digitalized and robotized economy, can prove itself with its products, also on the demanding Chinese market. Slovenia is a country in the heart of Europe. It is the best possible entrance to the European market because it provides the best and shortest gateway for shipping from China to Europe, from Europe to China. We would like to enhance and evolve ourselves into the next European hub for innovation of advanced and sustainable technologies," he said.

The minister also underscored the significance of China-CEEC cooperation in fostering economic ties.

"I think that the China-CEEC mechanism is already the best possible tool to see where are untapped potentials, how we can bring Slovenian small, medium enterprises to the China market, and it provides the tools and support in order to do so. Our strong biopharmaceutical industry that presents nearly a third of our exports, because we import a lot of medical substances from China. We saw a great growth of Chinese exports to Slovenia. In just five years, it multiplied by five," said Frangez.

In addition to medicine, Frangez shared Slovenia's aspirations to build partnerships with the rapidly growing Chinese EV market.

"We met with a lot of companies these days from the emerging Chinese automotive sector. We don't hide the ambition to localize a portion of Chinese EV production in Europe, in Slovenia. In that sense, we are in communication with several of the Chinese automakers, but also, we would like to bring Slovenian automotive industries, Slovenian suppliers, tested throughout the decades of collaborating with the European automotive industry, to China," he said.

Held in Ningbo, east China's Zhejiang Province, from Thursday to Sunday, the exhibits at the expo include over 8,000 products from Central and Eastern European countries and a variety of Chinese consumer goods for exports.

Under the theme "New Visions for the Future", the four-day event features business matchmaking sessions, investment promotion and cultural exchange activities alongside an 80,000-square-meter trade exhibition.

Trade ties with China could turn Slovenia into next European innovation hub: Slovenian official

China's consumption growth continues to show resilience, with millions of new restaurants opening last year, underscoring robust demand in the domestic catering sector, said Zhang Yichen, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

Zhang, who is CEO of CITIC Capital and chairs the master franchise of McDonald's China, told China Global Television Network (CGTN) that 3.5 million new restaurants opened across the country last year, including about 1,000 new McDonald's outlets annually.

At this year's "two sessions," Zhang urged policymakers to introduce measures that would encourage dine-in consumption, linking the restaurant boom to broader efforts to sustain domestic demand.

"This is the amazing resilience of the Chinese economy and Chinese enterprises overall. It's that you have another 3.5 million restaurants, new restaurants, opened," he said.

Zhang believes the key challenge now is reviving in-person dining and shopping to sustain long-term consumption growth.

"In the short term we're actually gaining from that. But in the long run, I believe overall the industry will suffer and the economy will suffer. That's why I brought up the issue and I'm so glad that the government is clearly agreeing with my views. The fact that we're (McDonald's China) opening 1000 restaurants a year and the fact that there are new restaurants still doing very well, it's a clear indication there is consumption power, you just have to find them," he said.

The "two sessions" are the annual meetings of China's supreme organ of state power, the National People's Congress (NPC), and the top political advisory body, the CPPCC. Both bodies serve five-year terms and hold a plenary session each year.

The fourth session of the 14th NPC and the fourth session of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC opened in Beijing on March 5 and March 4, respectively.

Zhang’s remarks underscore both the resilience of China's consumer market and the need for policies to secure sustained demand, a key focus of this year’s "two sessions."

CPPCC member seeks measures to boost dine-in consumption as China's demand stays resilient