China and European ‘17+1’ nations to hold virtual talks in February
- President Xi Jinping will reportedly meet leaders from central and eastern Europe for summit that was postponed due to pandemic
- Observers expect cooperation to fight the virus, economic recovery and climate change to be high on the agenda
China’s president will meet leaders from central and eastern European countries early next month for a virtual summit that has been delayed for nearly a year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Czech President Milos Zeman will join the videoconference from Poland, where he will be attending a Visegrad Four summit with the leaders of Poland, Slovakia and Hungary, CTK said on Thursday.
The “17+1” bloc – or the Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries (China-CEEC) – was launched in 2012. It aims to advance trade and investment between members but the European side has been increasingly dissatisfied with the lack of tangible progress and a growing trade deficit with China.
Annual summits are hosted on a rotational basis – the last one was held in Dubrovnik in southern Croatia in April 2019. Last year’s was supposed to be held in Beijing in April – with Xi to host the summit in place of Premier Li Keqiang, who has co-chaired the talks since 2013 – but was postponed because of the coronavirus crisis.