Polish president's China visit aimed at closer economic, cultural ties: ambassador

2011-12-16 17:42

BEIJING, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Polish Ambassador to China Tadeusz Chomicki said hereThursday that Poland seeks to advance economic and cultural ties with China duringthe Polish president's upcoming visit to China.

"We think it is a great opportunity to show Poland as a good, strong and attractivepartner for China," Chomicki told a press conference at the Polish Embassy in Beijing.

At the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao, Polish President BronislawKomorowski will pay a state visit to China from Dec. 18 to 22.

Chomicki said Komorowski will be the first Polish head of state to visit China in 14years, and Poland attaches great importance to the visit.

He said a 150-strong delegation, which consists of businesspeople, scholars and high-ranking officials such as the Polish economy minister, will accompany Komorowski inthe visit.

Komorowski will arrive in Shanghai to start the tour, where he will attend an investmentpromotion forum and meet representatives with the Chinese-Polish Joint Stock ShippingCompany, the oldest Sino-foreign joint venture in New China.

After his two-day stay in Shanghai, Komorowski will travel to Beijing, where he will holdtalks with President Hu, meet with several Chinese leaders and attend forums on botheconomics and education.

Chomicki said the two countries are to sign a series of cooperative deals, but hedeclined to specify details.

Poland welcomes investment from China, Chomicki said, noting that foreign investmentin Poland can involve direct investments, financial investments such as the purchase ofPolish treasury bonds, and participation in the privatization of Polish state-ownedenterprises.

Chomicki added that potential investment fields in Poland include infrastructure,energy, research and development, mining, auto manufacturing and heavy industry.

Chomicki said Poland also hopes to enhance cultural relations with China, as the twosides will launch an education forum at Beijing Foreign Studies University for closerstudent exchanges and cooperation.

Bilateral trade volume in 2010 increased 23.8 percent over the previous year to reacha record-high 11.14 billion U.S. dollars. Poland has been China's largest tradingpartner in Central and Eastern Europe for the past six years.