Balkan States Woo Chinese Investors at Summit

The 4th annual Economic and Trade Forum between China and 16 countries of Central and Eastern Europe started on Tuesday in China's eastern coastal city of Suzhou.

The initiative, called "16 + 1", was initiated by China in 2012, as it seeks to improve trading and economic ties with 16 countries in Central and Eastern Europe - Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia.

After the first three summits, in Warsaw, Bucharest and in Belgrade last year, the summit is being organized in China for the first time. Of the 16 European countries invited to attend, 15 have sent prime ministers, deputy prime ministers or presidents.

Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic is missing the summit for a second year in a row, after missing the meeting in Belgrade in 2014 owing to rocky political relations with host country Serbia. This year, Milanovic is not going due to the ongoing negotiations of forming a new government in Croatia following the recent elections.

The chair of the Croatian parliament, Josip Leko, has gone instead of Milanovic "It's important for Croatia to be present at the table where China is opening its cooperation with these [neighbouring] countries," Leko said on Tuesday.

"We... have expressed are opinion and presented some projects and ideas, which we hope will be accepted in future," Leko said, not specifying which projects Croatia had in mind.

Croatia's Chamber of Commerce is leading a delegation of 13 Croatian companies that have met Chinese partners on the sidelines of the summit.

Officials from the company Rijeka Port have declared in interest in the Chinese-planned project for a "Maritime Silk...