Archives May 2025

On May 24, 2025, amid the blend of history and modernity along Ningbo’s Bund, the 10th edition of the “Bund Afternoon Tea”, the Romania-Ningbo Jiangbei Investment and Economic & Trade Exchange Event, was held. Viorica Dăncilă, Co-Chair of the Europe-China Economic Cooperation and Development Council (ECECDC) and former Prime Minister of Romania, led a Romanian political and business delegation on a visit to the Ningbo Secretariat of the European Ningbo General Chamber of Commerce.



Members of the delegation included Nicolae Vasilescu, Chairman of the Romania-China Chamber of Commerce; Gheorghe Cătălin Coman, Mayor of Fălticeni; Sorin Cristian Inache, Deputy Mayor of Galați; Ion Ștefanovici, President of the Center for Analysis and Planning of Regional Development; Titus Valberg, Vice Chairman of the Viorica Dăncilă Foundation; Bogdan Cătreanu, Secretary General of the Viorica Dăncilă Foundation; Cosmin Alexandru Ilie, City Administrator of Fălticeni; and Toma Ion Dumitrescu, City Administrator of Galați. Together with representatives from Ningbo’s government and business sectors, they jointly outlined a blueprint for cooperation, with multiple agreements signed on site. The gathering of senior officials marked a milestone in cooperation and injected strong momentum into China-Central and Eastern Europe economic and trade collaboration. Xu Huixiang, District Mayor of Jiangbei District People’s Government; Pan Weifeng, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Jiangbei District Committee and Head of the United Front Work Department; and Gu Guoxing, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Jiangbei District Committee and Executive Vice District Mayor, attended the event.

On May 23, 2025, as one of the key events of the Fourth China-Central and Eastern European Countries Expo, the 2025 China-Central and Eastern European Countries Mayors’ Forum was held in Ningbo. Viorica Dăncilă, Co-Chair of the Europe-China Economic Cooperation and Development Council (ECECDC) and former Prime Minister of Romania, who was invited to China to attend the Expo, participated in the forum and gave an exclusive interview to China Media Group. She congratulated the successful hosting of the Expo, spoke highly of China’s development achievements, and expressed her expectation that Romania’s new government would strengthen cooperation with China and further advance bilateral relations.



As an old friend of China, Dăncilă described her impressions of this visit as “feels new every time,” noting that each visit brings different discoveries and gains. She also openly expressed her affection for China, stating: “I appreciate the warmth and hospitality of the Chinese people, admire China’s development approach, and China consistently brings us continuous surprises through rapid innovation.” She further praised China’s visa-free policies, remarking that they are beneficial to both China and the world and are worthy of reference by other countries.

Following the recent conclusion of Romania’s presidential election, Dăncilă also shared her expectations for the new government’s development of relations with China: “Over the 75 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, China has always been a friendly partner and a model of development for Romania. Strengthening relations with China on the basis of mutual respect and common development will bring many benefits to Romania.”