TRACECA and China: Expanding cooperation in the field of transport and logistics in the region

This event is held with the assistance of the Ministry of Transport of the People's Republic of China, Sichuan Provincial People's Government and Chengdu Municipal People's Government, Sichuan Provincial Department of Transportation, Port and Logistics Office of the People's Government of Sichuan Province.

Among the participants of the Conference - representatives of state institutions, including the National Development and Reform Commission of the People's Republic of China (NRDC), Chinese and foreign enterprises, industry associations, research institutions, as well as international organizations, development partners, and other interested parties, including OSJD, TRACECA, COSCO SHIPPING, Sinotrans Limited, Sichuan Ports and Shipping investment Group Co., Ltd.

The opening ceremony was attended by the Vice-Minister of Transport of the People's Republic of China, Mr. Wang Gang, and the Special Representative of the Secretariat for Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries, H.E. Ambassador Jiang Yu.
 
Particular attention in the discussions was paid to the aspects of the development of logistics cooperation, harmonization and simplification, effective management of corridors.
 
During the discussions, the TRACECA Secretary General shared the current initiatives that the Permanent Secretariat is working on and the possibilities of the corridor, including the need for new approaches to cooperation in the field of logistics, where TRACECA countries play an important role in ensuring connectivity between Asia and Europe.
 
  "The deepening and development of transport corridors has been and remains an important issue on the agenda and requires the adoption of joint internationally coordinated decisions. The main transportation route from Southeast and East Asia to European countries runs through Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye. TRACECA countries pay attention to reducing the time of cargo transportation and border crossing, digital solutions are being introduced. All this has a positive effect on the possibility of cargo transportation between China and the countries of the European Union. In addition, over the past years, an interconnected network of transport infrastructure has been formed," Mr. Assavbayev A.A. noted.
 
"China and CEEC can use sea lines, but by cooperating, I think we could raise awareness of logistics companies about the possibilities of transportation along the TRACECA corridor, especially for goods sensitive to delivery time. The Permanent Secretariat expresses its readiness to cooperate to ensure greater and more effective connectivity between the countries of Asia and Europe," the Secretary General stressed.

The event will continue until September 26, 2023 within the framework of the China-CEEC Logistics Infrastructure Construction and Cross-Border Road Conference.

 For information:
    
- Format 14+1 is a format of cooperation between China and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Greece, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia. In 2019, Greece joined them. This cooperation is mainly of a trade, economic and investment nature, but at the same time it also covers issues of mutual relations in the field of culture, tourism, science and education.
The main body coordinating activities within the framework of the format is the Secretariat located in Beijing.
More about the Cooperation Secretariat - http://www.china-ceec.org/eng/