Chief Editor: Dr. Chen Xin
Preface
The China-CEE Institute has the honour to present the third book on CEE countries participating in the China International Import Expo (hereinafter referred to as the “CIIE”) in 2020. At the Belt and Road International Forum held in May 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that China was to hold China International Import Expo starting from 2018. By the end of 2020, China successfully held the CIIE in Shanghai three times. Comparing with the China Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou (Canton Fair), which was held annually since 1957, CIIE is not only a trade fair, but also an important action and policy declaration on the active market openness. It is an important instrument for China to support the trade liberalization as well as to open the market to the world economy, and it is a new platform to entry into the Chinese market.
From November 4 to 10, 2020, the 3rd CIIE was successfully held in Shanghai. President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony via video. The 3rd CIIE is an international economic and trade event organized by China in 2020 with the largest scale, the largest number of participating countries, and the combination of online and offline methods. According to statistics, 2020 exhibition attracted enterprises from 124 countries (regions) to participate, with a total exhibition area of nearly 360,000 square meters, a total of 411 items of new products, new technologies and new services were displayed, of which 73 items were world premieres.
This book is a collection of reports by our associate researchers from CEE countries. The reports are parts of the Weekly Briefings, a core product by the China-CEE Institute. The 4th issue of weekly briefings in November 2020 focuses on analysing business delegation to the expo as well as media coverage in their own countries. Due to the coronavirus pandemic and its containment measures, a few countries were unable to attend the 3rd CIIE.
The views in the book are represented by the individual authors instead of the China-CEE Institute.
The China-CEE Institute, registered as a non-profit limited company in Budapest, Hungary, was established by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) in April 2017. The China-CEE Institute builds ties and strengthens partnerships with academic institutions and think tanks in Hungary, Central and Eastern European countries, as well as other parts of Europe. The China-CEE Institute aims to encourage scholars and researchers to carry out joint research and field studies, to organize seminars and lecture series, to hold some training programs for younger students, and to publish academic results, etc.
I hope the book would promote the exchanges among the academics as well as business fields between China and Central and Eastern European countries.
Prof. Dr. CHEN Xin Executive President and Managing Director, China-CEE Institute Deputy Director General, Institute of European Studies, CASS