New Starting Point in Advancing Cooperation between Poland and China

At the end of December 2011，

Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski finished his state-visit to China. This visit was garnered much attention because Komorowski is the first Polish head of state to visit China in 14 years and the visit was fruitful. During the visit， the two heads of states signed a joint statement that extended bilateral relations to a new level of strategic partnership， signifying that the relationship between China and Poland has entered a new phase. Komorowski said before this trip that he hoped his upcoming visit to China would help the two countries further lift bilateral ties to a new high and deepen cooperation in various fields.

Strengthening the bilateral trade cooperation is key

Poland is a leading country in Central and Eastern Europe. Since the outbreak of the financial crisis in 2008， Poland’s economy has performed better than other European countries with the growth of 1.7% every year. Poland has been China’s largest trading partner in region for the past six years and according to official statistics， the trade volume between Poland and China in 2010 increased 23.8% over the previous year to reach a record-high of 11.14 billion U.S. Dollars. However， according to the introduction from Slawomir Majma， President of the Polish Invest- ment and Information Agency (PAIIZ)， the investment from China in Poland in 2010 only accounted for 0.1% of the total volume of Poland’s foreign capital investment. Thus signifying the cooperation between Poland and China is still limited. Polish ambassador Tadeusz Chomicki expressed that Poland attaches great importance to the visit， especially in the terms of economics and trade.

President Komorowski was accompanied by a 150-strong delegation of businesspeople， scholars and highranking officials. During his visit in Shanghai and Beijing， he not only met with several Chinese national leaders， but also attended forums on the economy and education and witnessed the signing of a series of agreements. According to the introduction from Polish President Komorowski， Industrial and Commercial Bank of China will set up a representative office in Poland， which is the first representative of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China in Central and Eastern Europe. The office will open in the first half of 2012. Meanwhile， Komorowski said that in June 2012， the non-stop flight routes would open between China and Poland. This is very important for both countries， especially for the relationship of trade and economics. As of right now， the flights from Beijing to Warsaw are routed through either Moscow or Frankfurt.

Many Polish companies and Chinese companies signed cooperation agreements during the visit. Polish copper firm KGHM said it has signed a deal estimated to be worth from PLN 6.3 billion to 12.6 billion to provide copper cathodes to China Minmetals from 2012 to 2015. KGHM CEO Herbert Wirth said in Beijing that

China Minmetals would buy 100，000 tons of copper cathodes a year “with options signed on an annual basis”. Chinese construction equipment manufacturer， Guangxi Liugong Machinery， signed a preliminary agreement to buy Polish state-owned manufacturer Huta Stalowa Wola’s (HSW) civil equipment arm. Furthermore， Haier and Sany Heavy Industry Co.，Ltd. now intend to invest in Poland.

The strategic partnership reflects the profound significance

Komorowski gave high praise on the development of China. He said，“During the last 14 years， great changes have taken place in both countries. Now Poland is the sixth-largest country in Europe， has become a member of NATO and the European Union and is the 20th largest economy in the world. Meanwhile， China has witnessed rapid economic development， as well as an enormous increase of its political clout and has developed as the second largest economy in the world.” Komorowski pointed out， “Under the new situation， bilateral economic and trade cooperation will enjoy a solid foundation and has much potential. We think it is a great opportunity to show Poland as a good， strong and attractive partner for China.” This visit opens up a new chapter between China and Poland. The visit not only elevates bilateral relations to the level of a strategic partnership， but also promotes bilateral trade. The results are very encouraging.

During this visit， there was an important signal that President Komorowski issued a statement in support of China’s market economy status. This had also been expressed earlier when Poland undertook its EU Presidency， leading to speculation that Europe could change their stance on the question of when to admit China’s market economy status. Meanwhile， Poland welcomes investment from all Chinese enterprises. Komorowski suggested，“Other than traditional investment， Poland welcomes Chinese companies to buy Polish bonds and to invest in the area of finance and the privatization of state-owned enterprises.” He hoped that this visit could create a good politi- cal environment for investment， and after 20 years of reforming， the Polish privatization programs have reached the end point， so he hoped more Chinese investors could grasp this opportunity. Slawomir Majma， gave his suggestions to Chinese enterprises for investment in Poland， he said that Poland wishes the Chinese companies to invest in information technology， communications technology， machinery manufacturing， new energy， biotechnology and business services outsourcing (BPO).

Concerning the European debt crisis， President Komorowski expressed his point of view， “Don’t over-exaggerated the current European debt crisis.” He remarked that the average level of public debt of EU members accounted for 86% of GDP， the U.S. public debt to GDP is 98%; while in Japan this figure has reached to 200%. “So I think that the level of public debt itself will not cause the collapse of the European economy， it only means that the rate of future economic growth in Europe will decline.”he commented. Lastly， he still believes that the EU would maintain its position in the world economy and the EU is the richest area globally in the long term.

Feng Zhongping， director of the Institute of European Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations， thought that the visit was so important to developing relations is not only important for China and Poland， but also for Europe and the European Union as a whole. Kong Tianping， director of Central and Eastern Europe of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences， also thought that this visit came at the right time. He pointed out that though bilateral cooperation has developed rapidly， the total amount is not large and the level of cooperation is low. The potential should be further deepened and enlarged. Poland’s main trade partners are other European countries， but it has noticed the influence of China， so Poland eyes China as the key destination for foreign capital attraction. The visit could deepen the depth by the largest extend and let Polish enterprises know more about the China market， Chinese enterprises and further promote Polish companies to invest in China， as well as improve the bilateral trade structure.