Samo Hribar Milic, the chief exec of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS), has called for more Chinese investment in Slovenia, especially such with a higher value added. Numerous opportunities for cooperation are still open, Hribar Milic told a visiting Chinese economic delegation on Monday.
According to Peter Jesovnik, the head of the Slovenian Public Agency for Entrepreneurship and Foreign Investment (JAPTI), Slovenia recorded record foreign direct investment last year, however, very little of it came from China.
Chinese investment is welcomed in all sectors, the only limitations are environmental friendliness and energy efficiency, said Jesovnik.
Last year 209 Slovenian exporters and 2,272 importers were registered in China and the number is growing, said Mateja Cepin, the head of the GZS competitiveness centre. 25 Slovenian companies are present on the Chinese market.
According to Hribar Milic, cooperation can be boosted by improving mutual understanding. "I believe that economic cooperation will be followed by cultural, social and scientific cooperation."
The head of the Chinese delegation, Jia Qinglin, praised the progress in bilateral cooperation since 1992 when Slovenia and China established diplomatic ties.
The Chinese government has full trust in Slovenia, and wants to improve ties with it, said Jia, the chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
Jia said he was already convinced of Slovenia's success during last November's visit by Prime Minister Janez Jansa and a team of Slovenian business executives to China. This feeling was deepened still at today's meeting with Jansa.
Economy Ministry State Secretary Tomaz Jersic noted that China was one of Slovenia's most important trading partners, with imports from the Asian country amounting to EUR 346m in 2007 (+41% year on year) and exports to EUR 60m (+13% year-on-year).
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