On Oct. 27, 2011, Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying met with the joint press delegation consisting of journalists from Central and Eastern European countries such as Albania, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Czech, and Slovakia.

Fu spoke positively of the relations between China and countries of Central and Eastern Europe. She said that against the backdrop of the current international situation undergoing complex and profound changes, the world experiencing the financial crisis and Europe going through the debt crisis, opportunities and challenges exist in parallel for the development of cooperative relations between China and countries of Central and Eastern Europe. China and countries of Central and Eastern Europe should seize opportunities, build on the advantage of traditional friendship, fully tap the cooperative potentials and vigorously advance cooperation in all fronts. China accumulated some experience in attracting foreign investment in recent year, but China was still inexperienced in making external investment. Chinese companies are interested in investing in Central and Eastern European countries and are concerned of the security of their investment and returns on investment. They expect a better environment for more investment from China to come in. She also introduced the course of revolution, national building and reform of China since the 1911 Revolution. She stressed that stability was the foundation for the development of China. China did make remarkable achievements in the past years, but China also faces some difficulties and problems. China will continue to walk along the path suited to China’s national conditions; in the meantime China welcomes constructive criticism and recommendations. She hoped that the media could play a positive role in increasing the understanding on China by the people in Central and Eastern European countries. She also answered questions raised by the journalists including the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula.

The journalists thanked Fu for taking time to meet them. They considered that the discussions were candid and thorough and increased their understanding of China’s foreign policies and national conditions.

At the invitation of the Information Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, the joint press delegation will have a 10-day reporting visit to Beijing, Shanghai and Guizhou.