Embarking on the Next 50 Years of Cooperation — The First China-Europe Business Leaders and Former Senior Officials Dialogue Successfully Held in Nanjing 

On September 21, 2025, diplomats from over twenty European countries to China visited Beijing’s Shunyi District, where they toured the China-Germany Industrial Park and the Luo Hong Art Museum to learn about the district’s industrial development and cultural features.

In the evening, the welcome banquet “European Diplomats Discover Shunyi & ‘Soul of the Balkans’—Explore the Taste of Bosnia and Herzegovina” was held. Gong Zongyuan, Secretary of the CPC Shunyi District Committee; Viorica Dăncilă, former Prime Minister of Romania; and Sinisa Berjan, Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to China, attended and delivered speeches. Nearly 150 participants joined the event, including diplomats from more than 20 countries such as Albania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Serbia, and Spain, as well as representatives of chambers of commerce, the Delegation of the European Union to China, and former Chinese ambassadors to Europe.

As the international gateway of the capital and a key hub for the airport economy, Shunyi is accelerating its development into a high-quality modern new city integrating ports, industries, and urban living. This exchange event provided a platform to deepen practical cooperation between China and Europe and demonstrated Shunyi’s commitment to a high level of opening up.

Pan Feng, President of the Europe-China Economic Cooperation and Development Council (ECECDC); Aurelian Gogulescu, Member of the ECECDC and President of the Prahova Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and Denis Jelimălai, Secretary General of the ECECDC and former Ambassador of Moldova to China, also attended the event.

From June 19 to 28, Pan Feng, Vice Chairman of the China-Europe Association for Technical and Economic Cooperation (CEATEC) and President of the Europe-China Economic Cooperation and Development Council (ECECDC), led the business delegation to Spain, Romania, and Portugal for inspection and exchange. The purpose of the visit was to promote economic and trade cooperation, expand international markets, deepen multilateral exchanges, and inject new vitality into regional economic development.

In Spain, the delegation held an in-depth working meeting with José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, the former Prime Minister of Spain and Chairman of the ECECDC. The two sides exchanged views on strengthening China-Spain economic and trade exchanges, promoting investment cooperation, and advancing cultural and technological exchanges. Zapatero warmly welcomed the Chinese delegation and highly praised the fruitful results of China-Spain cooperation in the past. He pointed out that Spain has significant advantages in fields such as new energy, tourism, and high-end manufacturing, and expressed the hope to further explore the potential for cooperation with China to achieve mutual benefits and win-win results. Pan Feng introduced the current economic development situation in China and its policies of opening up to the outside world, emphasizing the hope to optimize this visit as an opportunity to establish broader cooperation platforms and promote practical cooperation between enterprises from both countries in more fields.

In Romania, the business and trade delegation had a friendly and productive exchange with Adrian Năstase, the former Prime Minister of Romania. The two sides exchanged views on topics such as infrastructure construction, agricultural trade, digital economy, and the organization of the Fourth Global Geographical Indication Products Expo. Năstase shared Romania’s experiences and opportunities in the development of relevant industries. Pan Feng stated that Chinese enterprises have advantages in technology, capital, and engineering construction and are willing to work with Romania to promote the implementation of key projects, contributing to local economic development and achieving common prosperity.

In Portugal, the business delegation held a working meeting with Zhao Bentang, the Chinese Ambassador to Portugal. Ambassador Zhao provided a detailed introduction to Portugal’s economic and social development, business environment, and the current status and potential of China-Portugal economic and trade cooperation. The two sides exchanged views on how to better leverage their respective advantages, promote Chinese enterprises’ investment and cooperation in Portugal, and facilitate the growth of bilateral trade.

The business delegation’s visit to Spain, Romania, and Portugal has laid a solid foundation for future cooperation in various fields, including trade, manufacturing, culture, and technology. It has pushed the friendly cooperation between China and these three countries to a new level, achieving high-level mutual benefit and win-win results.