KUNMING, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- At the ongoing 14th China Agricultural Trade Fair (CATF) held in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Slovenian businessman Miroslav Slatinsek is busy introducing his wine to visitors.
Although it is the first time he has attended the fair, his wine has been on the Chinese market since June last year.
"I'd like more Chinese people to learn about wine from Slovenia," he says, adding that quality grapes and traditional brewery technology ensure the taste of his wine.
Slatinsek said policies in China in recent years, especially the Belt and Road Initiative, have enabled enterprises in Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC) to better explore the Chinese market.
Slatinsek is impressed by the wine bottles and glasses produced in China. "I hope China can export wine bottles to Slovenia, and have more Slovenian wine exported to China. Win-win," he says.
At the Meeting of China-CEEC Ministers of Agriculture held on Saturday, Slovenian Agriculture, Forestry and Food Minister Dejan Zidan said China has abundant agricultural resources, and attending the CATF regularly has become an important way to strengthen agricultural cooperation with China.
In a congratulatory letter sent to the Meeting of China-CEEC Ministers of Agriculture, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang called for enhancing agricultural cooperation between China and CEEC to bring new vigor to global trade and investments in the area.
Li attended the Sixth China-CEEC Economic and Trade Forum held Saturday in Riga, Latvia, where he said China would import CEEC quality agricultural and industrial products, while calling for easier access of Chinese products and businesses to the CEEC market.
By promoting interconnectivity, China and CEEC have reshaped their trade structure and scaled up their trade volume. Data shows that since inception in 2011 the number of China-Europe freight train lines has grown to 39. Sixteen Chinese cities operate cargo trains to about a dozen European cities on a regular basis.
Agricultural product trade between China and CEEC surged to 1.13 billion U.S. dollars in 2015, 2.5 times the volume in 2005.
Oskars Mickevics, who runs a honey business in Latvia, is planning to seek his chances on the Chinese mainland, eyeing the huge market.
"Our honey products are popular in Taiwan, as they include vitamins and other kinds of nutrition," he says.
Mickevics is confident about the market potential of the products. He said that unlike the honey in China where bees collect nectar from a single flower, his bees forage multiple flowers, which ensures richer nutrition in honey products. However, the complicated application procedure for a sales permit in China has stood in his way.
"I hope the Belt and Road Initiative will simplify the application," he says.
