The Experience Center of the Central European Trade and Logistics Cooperation Zone (CECZ) is seen in Budapest, Hungary on April 12, 2022. (Photo by Attila Volgyi/Xinhua)
BEIJING, June 15 (Xinhua) -- As China's first national-level trade and logistics overseas cooperation zone, the Central European Trade and Logistics Cooperation Zone (CECZ) has been facilitating cooperation between China and Hungary and the other countries of Central and Eastern Europe since its inception in Budapest in 2012.
It has hosted a series of promotion events such as the China Brand Fair (Central and Eastern Europe) to deepen cooperation between Chinese and Hungarian enterprises under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Based on its strengths in business expansion and logistics supply chain services, the zone has boosted Budapest's social and economic development.
Meanwhile, the CECZ has been actively constructing overseas warehouses and offering logistics services to advance China-Hungary cooperation on the Digital Silk Road.
-- Promoting economic, trade cooperation between China, Hungary
The 2023 China Brand Fair (Central and Eastern Europe) was held from June 8 to 10 in Budapest, aiming to advance Belt and Road construction and deepen economic and trade cooperation between China and Hungary.
The event organized by the Trade Development Bureau of China's Ministry of Commerce and the CECZ attracted over 230 Chinese exhibitors to showcase exhibits in such sectors as electrical, mechanical, textile, chemical, service trade, as well as eye-catching new energy and material products like photovoltaic power generation products, energy storage batteries, and optical polymer materials.
Nearly 5,000 purchasers from Central and Eastern European countries such as Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Serbia were drawn to attend the fair.
Local entrepreneurs view the fair as a useful platform for harmonious exchange and mutually beneficial trade between China and the Central and Eastern European countries.
Kristof Horvath, a 26-year-old entrepreneur in energy sector, said he is looking for new opportunities and new markets. That's why he came to the exhibition.
Liu Bo, minister-counsellor of the Chinese embassy in Hungary, said that economic and trade cooperation between China and Hungary has been intensified and yielded fruitful results in recent years. In 2022, the bilateral trade value jumped 51 percent from the figure in 2019, with an average annual growth rate of 15 percent. This year's fair, the first after the COVID-19 pandemic, would meet the diverse needs of thousands of merchants in Central and Eastern Europe and further enhance bilateral economic and trade cooperation.
In fact, it was the six time for the CECZ to host the offline China Brand Fair (Central and Eastern Europe).
Before the pandemic, the CECZ also held 100-odd campaigns such as Chinese brand product promotion conferences, product launch events, and exhibitions every year, aiming to press ahead market development and business cooperation between Chinese and Hungarian enterprises.
To provide diverse logistics channels for China-Hungary trade, the zone has cooperated with domestic train operators to jointly launch routes linking Chinese cities of Changsha, Xi'an, Jinan, Guangzhou and Linyi with Budapest in the past few years. It has also inaugurated land-sea express lines, cargo charter flight routes, and truck shipping services.
The CECZ consists of a Chinese commodity exhibition center in Budapest, and two logistics parks, one of which is located in the Ghibli Port in Hungary and the other in the Bremen Port in Germany.
It is home to 176 enterprises, whose trade value reached 672 million U.S. dollars in 2022 and driving Chinese enterprises' exports totaling 1.723 billion U.S. dollars.
-- Boosting local social, economic development in Budapest
Based on its strengths in business expansion and logistics supply chain services, the CECZ has boosted Budapest's social and economic development by actively fostering cooperation between Chinese and Hungarian companies, stabilizing local supply chains, and fulfilling its social responsibilities.
Local companies have gained benefits from the Belt and Road cooperation with Chinese enterprises enabled by the zone.
Balta Attila, owner of the Hungarian idol science and technology Co. Ltd. settling down in the Zone, used to be a senior executive of a Polish lighting company's Hungarian branch, and he dreamed of starting his own company.
By chance, Attila got in touch with the Chinese company NVC Lighting at a Chinese goods exhibition held by the zone. After a few exchanges and with the help of the zone, Attila managed to set up his own company that is the sole agent of NVC Lighting in Central and Eastern Europe.
Being one of the first companies to settle in the CECZ, Hungarian full-service logistics provider Ghibli was able to enlarge its client base using the zone's services. Previously, the company provided logistics services mainly for European companies and was keen to expand its business in China. It failed doing so due to the lack of information, channels and promotion. Since moving into the CECZ, Ghibli has attracted a large number of Chinese clients, after using the zone's resources to send an export train to China.
Enhancing supply chain stability through logistics services is another focus of the zone.
During the early stage of pandemic outbreak in Europe, the CECZ opened train routes for transporting supplies needed for international humanitarian aid and work resumption, as well as air routes for shipping pandemic prevention materials, thus playing a significant role in helping Hungary's response to the pandemic and its business recovery.
As impact of the pandemic wanes, the zone actively contributed to Hungarian government's initiative to increase the country's self-sufficiency in medical sector. It assisted the building of mask and nitrile glove factories by offering full supply chain services ranging from equipment and raw material procurement, transportation, factory construction, equipment installation, and production operations.
To enhance supply chain service capabilities, the zone teamed up with Waberers, Hungary's leading provider of freight and complex logistics services, to establish the joint venture of SinoWa, in order to prepare for the explosive growth expected from Chinese enterprises in the Hungarian logistics market.
In responding to Hungary's call for building green parks and zones, the CECZ has built a solar power station with a capacity of 7.5 MW, which not only generate sufficient electricity for the zone, but also provide surplus electricity to the Hungarian society.
-- Promoting Digital Silk Road development
With rapid development of cross-border e-commerce in recent years, the CECZ has been actively constructing overseas warehouses and offering logistics services to promote China-Hungary cooperation on the Digital Silk Road.
The zone has built the Vác e-commerce industrial and logistics center, which provides intelligent warehousing, cross-border e-commerce technology exchange and transformation services for Hungary and the Central and Eastern European markets.
Currently, a smart warehouse of the e-commerce logistics center is under construction, involving an investment of 69 million euros and covering an area of 30,000 square meters. It is expected to provide digital and intelligent warehousing services for e-commerce companies and bolster the development of the Digital Silk Road once operational as planned in 2024.
Back in January 2021, the CECZ signed a cooperation agreement with China (Ganzhou) Cross-Border E-Commerce Comprehensive Pilot Zone to jointly operate cross-border e-commerce freight train route connecting Ganzhou in east China's Jiangxi Province with Budapest and build a digital supply chain service system for domestic and foreign enterprises.
In 2022, the zone handled over 50 million to-customers (2C) cross-border small packages weighing less than 2 kilograms, accounting for 93 percent of the market share in Hungary.
The CECZ has collaborated with Cainiao, the logistics arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, to operate Cainiao's first Hungarian distribution center in Budapest, targeting at enhancing cross-border parcel shipping efficiency between China and Hungary.
The zone has also established a joint venture with Hungarian Post to provide delivery services for e-commerce companies in over 20 countries and regions.
With concerted efforts of the zone, Chinese e-commerce companies have seen Hungary become a significant gateway for them to make foray into Central and Eastern European markets and an essential center for distributing goods to over 20 neighboring countries and regions. (Contributed by Su Dan with Xinhua Silk Road, sudan@xinhua.org, and Chen Hao)
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