ZAGREB, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) — Former Croatian deputy parliament speaker Davorko Vidovic has welcomed China’s determination to broaden its visa-free coverage to Croatia, expressing optimism that it’s going to improve bilateral cooperation and foster exchanges.
In a current interview with Xinhua, Vidovic stated this coverage “can create conditions for serious improvement and increasingly better relations on the economic, cultural and political level between the two countries.”
Vidovic served as deputy speaker of the Croatian parliament from December 2021 to May 2024, and previous to that, he was minister of labor and social welfare from 2000 to 2003. He has been the president of the Social Democrats, a Croatian center-left political get together, because it was based in 2022.
China introduced on Nov. 22 that extraordinary passport holders from 9 extra international locations — Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Malta, Estonia, Latvia, and Japan — would get pleasure from visa-free entry on a one-year trial foundation beginning Nov. 30. Under this coverage, guests can keep in China with out a visa for as much as 30 days for functions similar to enterprise, tourism, household visits, exchanges and transit.
Calling China “a huge, beautiful country with a fantastic history and beautiful landscapes,” Vidovic stated: “I think that China … can be a truly top-notch lure and a world-famous destination for Croatians, and as far as I know, there is great interest in visiting China.”
Recalling his six visits to China, Vidovic stated every time he returned with “incredibly rich new knowledge and experiences with the fascinating development of China in all areas.”
During his final go to to China in 2023, Vidovic went to the innovation facilities in Hefei, provincial capital of Anhui Province. He was tremendously impressed by China’s fast developments within the fields of communications and transportation.
“We had the opportunity to ride a high-speed train from Beijing to Shanghai running at almost 400 km an hour. You cannot see that speed, that progress, anywhere else in the world,” he added.
Meanwhile, the variety of Chinese vacationers visiting Croatia in 2024 is approaching the document of 300,000 in 2019. Through this vacationer alternate, there will likely be “better connections, better ties between the two countries in all areas,” he famous.
Vidovic additionally expects the visa-free coverage to considerably facilitate doing enterprise with China and open up the prospect of stronger involvement of enterprise communities, enterprise individuals and joint investments.
Croatia has “good experiences” in cooperation with Chinese buyers, he famous, citing the Chinese-built Senj Wind Farm and the Peljesac Bridge as two examples.
“Croatia and China have enormous opportunities for cooperation: Croatia can be a hub for a whole range of Chinese products, and space is opening up for cooperation in the fields of technology, science, education and culture,” he stated.