The City of Sisak and the Chinese company called CIMM Group on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding on an initial investment of US$ 30 million in establishing a graphite electrode factory in that town 50 kilometres southeast of Zagreb.

The document was signed by Mayor Kristina Ikic Banicek and the CIMM Group’s founder and director, Ma Shujun, during a Croatian-Chinese business forum organised by the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) in Zagreb on Tuesday.

The signing of the memorandum is a new step forward in the development of bilateral relations, said the Economy Ministry’s State Secretary Zdenko Lucic.

Chinese Ambassador to Croatia Xu Erwen said that she was happy to see a rise in Chinese investments in Croatia and welcomed the fact that more and more Croatian companies do business in her country.

Ivan Barbaric of the HGK said that the relations between Croatia and China have been undergoing a renaissance in recent years

Last year, trade between the two countries exceeded $1 billion, and Croatia’s exports to China increased by 25%, Barbaric said, recalling that the HGK opened its office in Shanghai due to the growing interest of Croatian enterprises in exporting to China.