Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Thursday received Yang Jiechi, director of China's Central Foreign Affairs Commission Office, for talks on the strengthening of Croatia-China ties and economic cooperation, the government said in a press release.

The global pandemic has shown the importance of good governance and multilateral cooperation, Plenkovic said, thanking the Chinee authorities for the cooperation in regular deliveries of protective medical equipment during the pandemic, as well as for joining in the fight against the coronavirus.

This was the first in-person meeting between Croatian and Chinese delegations during the pandemic.

The framework for China’s cooperation with Central and Eastern Europe has valuable potential as a unique initiative building bridges between Europe and Asia, Plankovic said, adding it was complementary to EU-China relations.

Yang said China too supported the continuation of the cooperation with CEE countries based on market principles in order to create mutually beneficial projects.

Plenkovic and Yang said they were pleased with the continuation of big projects in Croatia, such as the Peljesac Bridge and other investments, from the construction of the transport infrastructure to investment in renewables.

Plenkovic said he would like President Xi Jinping to visit Croatia next year, on the 30th anniversary of Croatia-China diplomatic relations, and see the Peljesac Bridge, which will be built by then.

Croatia-China trade in 2020 was $1.39 billion. Intensive work is under way to establish direct Beijing-Zagreb flights and on the arrival of Chinese tourists, given that almost 500,000 visited Croatia in 2019.

Yang said China was open for Croatian products and that he wished for trade to continue to increase.

The two officials also talked about cooperation in culture and sports. Plenkovic wished China “lots of success” in organising the Winter Olympics in Beijing.