Production, infrastructure projects and tourism talks with China

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Vesna Pusić met today in Belgrade with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, with whom she discussed several aspects of cooperation

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Vesna Pusić met today in Belgrade with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, with whom she discussed several aspects of cooperation. "The first aspect is using Croatia as an EU member, as a country where Chinese companies could establish their enterprises and transfer a portion of their production for the European market, in view of the fact that we are competitive in terms of the cost of labour, and a lot can also be saved on transport," she said. Pusić said that a group of Chinese business people and heads of chambers of commerce had already visited the northwestern county of Međimurje and expressed interest in production in Croatia for the German market, adding that in the plenary part of the conference the Chinese premier had mentioned Croatia as a place where China was interested in business zones i.e. production for the EU market.

The second aspect of cooperation concerns infrastructure projects such as airports on the Island of Krk and in Osijek, a thermal power plant in Osijek, a cargo terminal in Rijeka, and investment possibilities for those projects. Pusić said that the following year Croatia would invest in land gas exploration and exploitation, which is also one of the possible areas of Croatian-Chinese cooperation.

As the third aspect of cooperation, Pusić cited tourism. "Tourism is a special category because it is not just that the Chinese market is large but it also has a lot of potential which we are still not fully aware of because Chinese citizens have not yet begun to take advantage of a higher standard of living and freedom of travel."

Pusić also delivered a letter to Li from Prime Minister Zoran Milanović, in which he referred to the 10^th anniversary of the Croatian-Chinese strategic partnership and a possible meeting, and invited the Chinese foreign minister to visit Croatia.

Pusić took the opportunity to propose a meeting of tourism ministers from Central and Eastern European countries next year when Croatia hosts a conference marking the 100th anniversary since the establishment of the World Tourism Organisation.

Asked about the deterioration in the Croatian-Serbian relations because of Šešelj, the minister said: “The relations between Croatia and Serbia are good, they are improving. We have been expecting, given our history and the warmongering of the early 90s that resulted in unimaginable tragedies, that the Serbian authorities would distance themselves from it. That is not to say that Belgrade is responsible for Šešelj’s release, but as a message to society I think it would be beneficial is the Serbian authorities distance themselves from such rhetoric.”

In regard to Croatia-Serbia cooperation in economic projects so as to overcome political tensions, Pusić said: “The role of us politicians is to relieve tensions when they occur and to make life easier, not harder. In the economic field, Croatia and Serbia have a lot of joint interests for cooperation. I don’t think that this incident can set us back in the long term. When Croatia experienced certain incidents, the government clearly states its position, sending a message to society. Our job is to secure better salaries, schools, jobs, and things like these to not deter us in that goal.”

“All of the countries present here today understand that such warmongering from the past is unacceptable for the prospects that are before us. We are discussing here the projects that could improve our standard and advance the economy, yet we have to deal with Šešelj’s rhetoric. It is important to determine and take a step in the right direction, not wrong,” said the minister. 

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