How a Ningbo “Treasure Trove” Catapulted CEEC Goods Nationwide in a Decade

 

 

 

 

"Ten years ago, our ambition was simply to bring Central and Eastern European wines to Zhejiang. Today, Polish milk, Bulgarian personal care items, and a constant stream of other goods flow daily from this hub to every corner of the nation," said Chen Yi proudly,General Manager of Ningbo Dijia Weida Business Trade Co., Ltd, during an interview at the CEEC Products Permanent Pavilion on December 22.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of China's inaugural CEEC Products Permanent Pavilion (hereinafter referred to as Permanent Pavilion). Based in the China-CEEC Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Zone, this "National Showcase" has evolved into the very anchor point from which goods from Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) set sail to pursue their ambitions in the vast Chinese market.

In early summer 2014, the inaugural Central and Eastern European Countries' Products Fair (CEEC Fair) opened in Ningbo. On June 8, 2015, this gave rise to the Central and Eastern European Countries' Products Permanent Fair, which was launched and featured inaugural pavilions from five countries, including Poland and the Czech Republic. The fair has expanded in scale every year since. A major milestone came in June 2021 with the opening of the second China-CEEC Expo, during which the fair was upgraded to a Permanent Pavilion. The facility entered its second phase of expansion in 2023, further enlarging its premises.

Today, the 32,000-square-meter Permanent Pavilion houses 37 national showcases featuring over 5,000 specialty products. Functioning as a public gateway to Central and Eastern European culture, the pavilion stands as a living snapshot of China-CEEC economic and trade cooperation in practice. This very hub has enabled numerous Ningbo-based importers to tap into a wealth of business opportunities.

The process sees raw, first-cut Serbian wool shipped to factories in China to be spun into yarn, which is then sent back to artisans in Serbia. There, it is woven into scarves and shawls that cater to Eastern tastes, before being showcased on the second floor of the Permanent Pavilion. This intricate, cross-continental supply chain is the innovative answer discovered by Fang Shen, an importer of Central and Eastern European goods, through the Permanent Pavilion.

"At the beginning, we were just importing ready-made clothing from Serbia, but it became clear the traditional styles weren't quite right for the market here in China," recalled Fang Shen. He explained that the innovative concept of "China-Serbia collaborative production" was born from discussions between him and his Serbian partners at a matchmaking event in the Permanent Pavilion. Today, the Serbian wool scarves he sells are staple bestsellers on its floor.

During the “A Decade of Brilliance: United for a New Beginning” gala, the Permanent Pavilion feted its decade-long partners with awards. Ningbo Dijia Weida Business Trade Co., Ltd was among the enterprises honored with the “Decade of Partnership Award”,while Dr. Andrzej Juchniewicz, Chief Representative of the Polish Investment and Trade Agency’s Office in China, was named a “Decade of Partnership Liaison Officer”.

Having both witnessed and propelled the collaboration between Ningbo and CEECs, Dr. Juchniewicz made a special trip from Shanghai for the ceremony. With palpable emotion, he described the Permanent Pavilion not merely as a showcase for goods, but as a vital link fostering friendship between the two sides. “I look forward to seeing an even greater variety of high-quality products from the region here,” he added, “and I am confident that the path of cooperation between Ningbo and CEECs will continue to broaden.”

The event also saw the presentation of several other awards, including the CEEC Permanent Pavilion’s “Trade Pioneer Enterprise” Award and the CEEC Permanent Pavilion’s “Dedication to Excellence Enterprise” Award.

From initially testing the waters with individual products to pioneering innovative, integrated supply chains, the Permanent Pavilion has been both a stage and a driver for the remarkable evolution of China-CEEC trade cooperation over the past decade, continually sustaining the dynamism of bilateral economic relations.

According to Ningbo Customs, the city’s import-export volume with CEECs totaled 45.45 billion yuan in the first three quarters, up 7 percent year-on-year - a rate 3.3 percentage points above its overall foreign trade growth. Notably, exports made up 37.84 billion yuan of the total, with imports at 7.61 billion yuan.

 

 

 

 

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