China will set a US$10 billion credit line and a US$500 million investment fund dedicated to central and eastern European states as it aims to increase trade with the region to US$100 billion in 2015, Premier Wen Jiabao said yesterday.
Wen, in Poland as part of a European tour, said the global economic situation had been improving, but recovery was still fragile.
He told an economic forum in Warsaw: "The global economic situation has shown some improvement so far this year, but the basis for such recovery is fragile and there are still relatively big uncertainties."
He added: "The Chinese side understands concerns among eastern European countries over trade imbalances and will boost imports from those countries."
China is also ready to seal currency swap agreements and conduct trade settlements in local currencies with its central and eastern European partners and wants to launch a dedicated US$10 billion credit line for them, as well as a special investment fund worth US$500 million initially, Wen said.
China has signed a string of bilateral currency agreements, including with Mongolia and Kazakhstan, to promote the use of the yuan in cross-border trade and investment.
The fund will offer loans on favorable terms to support infrastructure, high-tech and green energy projects.
China will also expedite the establishment of economic and technology zones jointly with central and eastern European countries in the coming five years, Wen said.
He said economic and trade cooperation is the most dynamic area in the ties between China and central and eastern European countries and has strong growth potential.
He said trade volume between China and central and eastern European countries reached US$52.9 billion in 2011 and had grown 27.6 percent a year on average since 2001, when it was just US$4.3 billion.
China will set up a China-Central and Eastern European Countries' Cooperation Secretariat, which will be in charge of communications and coordination, he said.
Earlier this week Wen also promised to increase bilateral trade volumes with Germany and Poland as part of a drive to diversify its foreign currency reserves, the world's largest at US$3.3 trillion.
Wen also discussed his visits to Germany, Iceland, Sweden and Poland in a phone call with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, in which he reiterated China's support for European efforts to tame the eurozone debt crisis.
Poland, the largest eastern EU member and still outside the single currency area, is engaged in a large-scale infrastructure building program and struggling to modernise its energy sector.
Warsaw hopes for Chinese investments in those fields.
China is interested in Poland's banking sector and wants to open branches of its banks, including the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, its biggest lender, in Poland.
China will set a US$10 billion credit line and a US$500 million investment fund dedicated to central and eastern European states as it aims to increase trade with the region to US$100 billion in 2015, Premier Wen Jiabao said yesterday.
