From "16+1" to "pan-European cooperation" - this year's CEEC Expo in Ningbo, China, marks a major turning point in economic diplomacy between China and Europe.
Serbian coffee smells, fine wine is served and freeze-dried fruits from the Balkans are tasted at the exhibition centre. But this year's China-Central and Eastern European Countries Expo is not just about delicacies. For the first time, the traditional countries of Central and Eastern Europe are joined by key players from the West: France, Germany, Italy and Spain - and not just symbolically.
Their national pavilions, the presence of leading brands and their willingness to negotiate trade agreements show that CEEC Expo 2025 is a new bridge between East and West. The original "16+1" format becomes a platform for the whole of Europe.
While Slovakia, Slovenia or Hungary continue their traditional presentations of innovation and cultural exchange, the new Western European additions see the event as a gateway to the Chinese market. Many admit that they had not even considered Ningbo before. Now, however, they are planning returns and direct investment.
A robot shakes hands, designers from Italy admire pavilions from Poland and startups from Germany are interested in eco-friendly solutions. The exhibition is not just a show - it is a testing laboratory for cooperation and economic understanding. A Chinese organization distributed 1.5 million yuan worth of vouchers to the public so that Western brands could immediately test the interest of customers.
Ningbo is thus turning into a symbol of a new era of Sino-European relations. Instead of exclusivity and a political framework, it offers a platform open to all - from cities to brands, from tradition to technology. At a time of global uncertainty and economic friction, CEEC Expo acts as a quiet but all the more impressive gesture - that the future of Europe and China can be written together. And not only at the negotiating tables, but also between the shelves and the orders.
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