The forum, which was organised by the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK), brought together executives of about 70 Croatian and 20 Chinese companies. One of China's most developed provinces, Zheijang was presented at the forum too.
State-secretary in the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts, Mario Antonic, said that data for the first six months of this year show that Croatian exports to China increased by 32.5% compared to the same period last year while imports from China jumped by 16.8%.
These are encouraging figures however there is still a lot of potential to further advance economic cooperation between the two countries, he said.
"In addition to seeking potential investors in the shipbuilding industry, Croatia will in future work on projects to revitalise the port of Rijeka as well as to construct of the Rijeka-Zagreb and Zagreb-Budapest railway lines. They could be great opportunities for Chinese investors to enter the Croatian market," Antonic said.
He underscored progress in tourism too. In the first eight months of this year there were 39% more Chinese tourists to Croatia on the year.
Antonic informed the Chinese business people that Croatia offers a wide range of industrial locations and entrepreneurial zones that are equipped with infrastructure and ready for investments and they are located throughout the country in the vicinity of important transport routes and ports.
Underscoring that Croatian government is investing significant effort in enhancing the business and investment climate, the official pointed out the good cooperation on the Peljesac Bridge project as an example, which is being built by the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC).
Antonic hopes that in future the number of joint projects and cooperation between Chinese and Croatian companies will increase. He considers that there is great potential for that within the 16+1 initiative which was established with the aim of establishing cooperation between central and eastern European countries (CEEC) and China. Croatia is the host of the initiative's conference next year.
Ivan Barbaric, responsible for international and EU relations in the HGK, said that having in mind the continuing strengthening of the middle class in China, significant potential exists for the export of high-quality Croatian agricultural and food products.
In that regard, HGK opened an office in Shanghai last year, with the aim of enhancing opportunities for Croatian companies to enter the Chinese market.
He added that last year the value of Croatia's exports to China amounted to 230 million euro, which shows that potential to increase exports certainly exists.
HGK and the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang signed an agreement of understanding today. Today's forum will also provided an opportunity for talks between individual companies.
Zhejiang province accounts for just 4% of China's total population. It accounts for 6.3% of the country's GDP and for 12.7% of total exports. Of the 500 leading companies in China in 2017, 120 have their headquarters in that province.