Chinese president: Sino-Croatian trade potential to be tapped

ZAGREB, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao said here Saturday that there is potential to be tapped in trade between China and Croatia.

Chinese President Hu Jintao (L) shakes hands with his  Croatian counterpart Stjepan Mesic during their meeting  in Zagreb, capital of Croatia, June 20, 2009.  (Xinhua/Yao Dawei)

Hu, who was on a state visit to the southeastern European country, made the remarks when attending a trade seminar with his Croatian counterpart Stjepan Mesic.

"Even though China and Croatia are separated by mountains and rivers, the friendship between our two countries can be traced far back," Hu said in an address to the seminar.

China and Croatia forged diplomatic relations 17 years ago. Bilateral ties witnessed a rapid growth during the period. Dual-track trade volume was close to 1.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2008, a record-high figure or 42 folds more than that of 1993. Croatia has become China's largest trading partner in southeastern Europe.

Even so, "the trade volume was relatively small and thus there is potential to be tapped," he said.

According to Hu, China's import volume has exceeded 1.13 trillion dollars in 2008.

"We welcome Croatian enterprises to promote your products through participating in trade fairs, increase export to China and promote balanced development for bilateral trade," Hu said.