Enter the dragon
The Minister of Economy, Piotr Woźniak, met with a number of Chinese businesspeople last week to discuss economic cooperation. During the meeting, Woźniak underlined the importance of relations between the two countries, but stressed that Poland's trade deficit remains a problem. While exports are in the range of $700-800 (zł.2,036-2,327) million, imports from China are "10 times bigger."
"We will focus on expanding the exports of Polish enterprises to China," Woźniak declared. There are around 13,000 companies in Poland importing goods from China, but only 1,000 exporters. "We will try to change this disparity into a more balanced ratio," Woźniak promised.
On the other hand, as far as investing goes, Poland trumps the Asian dragon. Woźniak pointed out that Polish investments in China reached $120 (zł.348) million last year, while Chinese firms invested $100 (zł.290) million in Poland. "These figures are too small and should be bigger," Woźniak said.
Some of the meeting's Chinese participants expressed interest in helping Poland with the much-needed development of its road infrastructure. "We would like to take part in infrastructure projects in Poland ... mainly roads and airports," said Wang Tianyi, the president of China International Industry & Commerce Company (CIIC). CIIC runs 11 industrial parks in China and has built over 2,000 km of highway there.
The company is not the only Chinese entity that sees opportunities in Poland's poor infrastructure. "We are studying how Chinese companies could help [develop the infrastructure]," said Zhao Jianping, vice president of the China Development Bank.
Chinese Economic Counsellor Han Bing commented that the prospects for bilateral economic cooperation are "excellent," but he pointed out that 48 percent of Polish imports from China come through third parties. "We should tighten our direct cooperation," he said. Wang Tianyi also said that lifting visa requirements for the Chinese could help economic relations between the two countries. "It should be resolved soon," he stated.
