Premier Li Keqiang and leaders from 16 Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC) visit an exhibition highlighting achievements made by China and CEEC, in Sofia, Bulgaria, July 7, 2018.

Initiated six years ago, the “16+1” cooperation mechanism has resulted in many achievements in interconnectivity, production capacity, infrastructure construction, economy and trade, green economy and people-to-people exchanges.

At the economic and trade display, Premier Li praised the cooperation between China and CEE countries, adding that openness will boost trade and investment for both sides.

China has a lot of quality products with lower prices to meet the consumption needs of CEE countries. China also encourages Chinese enterprises to set up branches in CEE countries if the local market requires, and to increase localization of products, Premier Li said.

In front of AI products’ display, Premier Li, together with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, tested the translation machine produced by a Chinese enterprise.

After Premier Li said “Hello, Prime Minister Borissov,” it was instantly translated into Bulgarian. He inquired the machine’s price and bought one as a gift to Borissov.

Borissov said “Thank you, Chinese Premier” to the machine.

Premier Li Keqiang and leaders from 16 Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC) visit an exhibition on the achievements of cooperation between China and the CEEC in Sofia, Bulgaria, July 7, 2018. [Photo/Xinhua]

Visiting the agriculture demonstration cooperation display, Premier Li was told that the Chinese rice and vegetables introduced to Bulgaria grow quite well and are sold to Western Europe. Then he asked related Chinese parties to build the agriculture demonstration zone successfully, abide by local laws and regulations and bring locals benefits.

Premier Li and CEE leaders also visited Chinese-produced locomotives and information and communication products. Seeing that a systematic application has been formed between Chinese and the local’s information products and technologies, he expressed his happiness over the rapid progress of cooperation.

He said that Chinese enterprises and products should increase their competitiveness and quality by testing them in various foreign markets.

China will further open its market to facilitate products exchanges between China and global markets, providing more and better choices for consumers, which is in compliance with principles of free trade, helpful to achieve win-win results, the Premier added.

Xiao Jie, state councilor and secretary-general of the State Council, and He Lifeng, minister in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission, also visited the exhibition.