Ningbo, known for its comfortable climate all year round and plentiful marine resources, is making great strides in cooperating with 16 Central and Eastern European Countries in sectors such as ports, tourism and education.

As a coastal city in eastern China, Ningbo is the port at the southern end of China's Grand Canal and the eastern departure port of the ancient Maritime Silk Road.

Ningbo's Zhoushan Port, one of China's largest pivotal ports, plays an important role in supporting trade and port cooperation between China and CEEC.

Last year, along its three main routes, 870,000 containers were transported from Ningbo's Zhoushan Port to the CEEC of Poland, Romania, Croatia and Slovenia. Official figures reveal an increase of 13.37 percent from 2016, according to Ningbo Zhoushan Port Co Ltd.

Zhejiang and CEEC have established a robust trade base in the past decades, and mutual port connections have become closer with the advance of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Officials said that CEEC have rich resources, especially in raw materials, which can be used to supply shortages in Ningbo.

CEEC also play an irreplaceable role for Ningbo in the export of its traditional products such as mechanical and electronic products, toys and suitcases, to the European Union.

Ningbo has carried out measures and policies to facilitate trade between the two sides - including setting up the pilot area for the national inspection of China-CEEC trade facilitation, accelerating the procedures needed for agricultural products to enter the market. This includes the faster issuing of certificates of origin and quarantine information, said Zhu Minmin, an official from Ningbo Customs District.

In addition to port trade, tourism has also been a focus of the mutual cooperation.

In recent years, Ningbo has intensified efforts to promote tourism by launching activities in CEEC, including exchange weeks and special tours.

As a result, the city has signed 28 tourism investment projects worth 63 billion yuan ($9.87 billion), which boosted the collaboration of the tourism industry, departments and agencies on both sides, according to the Ningbo Tourism Development Commission.

"These activities have provided platforms for CEEC to explore China's tourism market and have tapped into the unique tourism resources and investment environment of Zhejiang and Ningbo, promoting the city's image as a modern harbor city and international tourism destination," said Li Zhemin, deputy director of the commission.

In June, the 2018 China-CEEC tourism cooperation exchange week will be held in Ningbo, featuring a cooperation conference, symposium and field trip.

As a key factor in mutual cooperation, the two sides have also combined to work on educational exchanges.

Ningbo has hosted the China Ningbo-CEEC Educational Cooperation Conference for the last four years. Nearly 400 government and university representatives have participated in this annual gathering and 64 educational cooperation and sister-university agreements have been signed. Education institutes in Ningbo have established partnerships with 66 colleges and universities in CEEC and launched nearly 80 education projects, according to Ningbo Education Bureau.

Based on the demand for urban and industrial development, Ningbo has ramped up collaboration with leading education service providers in CEEC to strengthen cooperation in staff training and communications. It has partnered with The Russian Academy of Arts to host forums, exhibitions and training programs.

In 2014, Ningbo established special scholarships for the students from CEEC who come to study in the city, worth from 6,000 yuan to 30,000 yuan per student per year. To date, 56 students from the CEEC have received a total of over 800,000 yuan in scholarships.

Ningbo has also made a significant investment in attracting high-caliber professionals to the city to support its longterm growth.

Last June, the city set up a service office for CEEC professionals, the first of its kind in China, aiming to better connect experts in CEEC with companies and institutes in Ningbo and surrounding areas.

To date, the office has invited more than 80 experts to attend meetings related to project and educational cooperation, new materials industry development and foreign engineer recruitment and training.

The city's education bureau said that Ningbo will continue to deepen and upgrade its educational cooperation in upcoming years.

In the recent years, Ningbo has also made great efforts to promote cultural exchange in CEEC. Officials from the Ningbo Bureau of Culture, Radio & TV, Press and Publication revealed that Ningbo has launched 11 cultural promotion projects in CEEC since 2015.

liangkaiyan@chinadaily.com.cn