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Beijing - Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko met in Beijing on Friday with his Chinese counterpart, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Zhang Dejiang, who told him that China would encourage Chinese companies to invest in Croatia.
China has great potential for investment abroad, including in Croatia. Zhang said that China supported projects proposed by Croatia and would encourage Chinese companies to invest in Croatia, a Croatian Parliament press release said.
Zhang highlighted Croatia's favourable geographical position and economic and tourism resources. He said that the cooperation between the two countries was based on their vital interests, adding that last year the rate of Chinese tourists visiting Croatia had increased by 40 per cent and of imports from Croatia by 2.5 per cent.
Leko met with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday. On Friday he visited two large companies, Poly Group and Alibaba Group, and discussed possibilities of their investing in Croatia, the press release said.
Leko attended the fifth economic and trade forum between China and 16 Central and Eastern European countries, held in Suzhou. The main topics of the forum were the progress made in the cooperation between China and the 16 countries and the promotion of further cooperation with a view to creating a comprehensive strategic partnership.