The total volume of Romanian-Chinese trade was 9 billion dollars in 2022, up 3.1% compared to the previous year, the People’s Republic of China being Romania’s second trading partner, after Turkey, among countries outside the European Union (EU), according to the data sent by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the City of Bucharest (CCIB).
The Bucharest Chamber recently hosted a seminar to present the largest multi-sector import exhibition in the world, China International Import Expo (CIIE), which will take place between November 5-10 in Shanghai. The main objectives of the seminar focused on the extensive presentation of the exhibition and related events, as well as the promotion of participation opportunities for interested Romanian companies, in the context in which this year’s edition of CIIE was included in the Export Promotion Program (PPE) 2023.
The President of CCIB, Iuliu Stocklosa, emphasized during the event the importance given by the Bucharest Chamber to the development of cooperation and commercial-economic relations with China, arguments in this regard being the eleven cooperation agreements signed with various chambers of commerce and other institutions in this country, as well as the fact that a CCIB representative office functioned in Beijing for a long time. In the context in which Romanian-Chinese trade is characterized by the largest trade balance that Romania registers at the level of a country, Iuliu Stocklosa encouraged Romanian companies to capitalize on the opportunities offered by CIIE to enter the Chinese market.
According to the China-Romania Association for the Promotion of International Trade and Economy (AFPICE), through the State plan of the Republic of China, 192 billion dollars are allocated for the import of food and related products from Central and Eastern European countries. Given the importance of this fair, in its most recent meeting, the Romanian Export Council decided to extend the period in which interested companies can submit the files to participate in the event with a subsidy from the state budget, respectively, the support from the PPE budget of the costs of renting spaces and related services, as well as 50% of the costs of transport and accommodation for a representative of each participating company, states CCIB.
This year’s edition of CIIE will be organized on six thematic pavilions, namely: food and agriculture, automobiles and automotive; smart industry, information and technologies; consumer goods; medical equipment and health; trade and services, Romanian companies having the opportunity to participate, under the national flag, in any of the mentioned sections.
The seminar was preceded by a meeting of Ambassador Han Chunlin, the economic and commercial advisor of the Embassy, Song Xianmao, and the vice-president of the National Congress and Exhibition Center (Shanghai), Shi Huangjun, with representatives of the Romanian business environment. Aspects of the commercial-economic collaboration between the two countries and its prospects were addressed, both in the context of the possible participation of Romania under the national flag at this year’s edition of CIIE Shanghai, as well as the relatively recent assumption of the mandate of Head of the Chinese diplomatic mission by Ambassador Han Chunlin, the press release states.
According to CCIB data, China was the 19th destination for the goods exported by our country with a weight of 1.19%, and for import the 6th market of origin of the goods entered in our country with a weight of 5.89 %. In 2022, out of the total volume of Romanian-Chinese trade of 9 billion dollars, 1.2 billion represent exports (-14.3%), and 7.8 billion dollars represent imports (+6.3%).
Preliminary data for the first quarter a.c. indicates a volume of bilateral trade of 1.9 billion dollars (export 0.3 billion dollars, and import 1.6 billion dollars.
On April 30, 2023, 13,430 companies with Chinese capital were registered in Romania (5th place) with a subscribed capital worth 407 million dollars, which places the Chinese Republic in 20th place among the investing states in our country.
The event in Bucharest was organized by the International Bureau of Import Exhibitions from China, the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Romania, the National Center for Congresses and Exhibitions (Shanghai), the Export Council of Romania, the China-Romania Association for the Promotion of International Trade and Economy (AFPICE), together with the Bucharest Chamber, as co-organizer, with the support of the Bank of China (Bucharest Branch – Central and Eastern Europe).
