连接欧亚的积极一员——专访拉脱维亚经济部国务秘书Ēriks Eglītis
文｜本刊记者 裴安迪 翻译｜邓哲远 摄影｜张梅
●坚定地和欧盟站在一起
●“16+1”框架
●投资拉脱维亚
坚定地和欧盟站在一起
6月6日至8日，拉脱维亚经济部国务秘书Ēriks Eglītis赴宁波参加第四届中国—中东欧投资贸易博览会（“16+1”博览会），本次博览会共推出投资合作项目共177个，累计投资意向金额超过100亿欧元。主要涉及能源、基础建设、汽车、物流、电子信息、农业、医疗、化工等领域，都是中东欧国家今年针对中国企业重点推出的项目。6月4日，Ēriks Eglītis在拉脱维亚驻华使馆接受了《中国投资》的专访。
《中国投资》：美国作为经济大国，长期以来与欧盟有着密切的贸易往来，从国际层面上，您怎么看美国频繁退出国际组织？这是否会影响欧美关系？
Ēriks Eglītis：美国作为世界大国，他们的政府采取特定的措施，我们无法评价这是好还是坏。当然，如果从影响的角度来看，我们作为欧盟内部的小经济体，更倾向于多边协议和集体决策。欧盟和美国是长期以来的战略合作伙伴，经济、价值、利益促使双方紧密联系。恐怖主义、黑客攻击、核威胁更让两个紧密联合共同处理本世纪最大的安全问题。虽然，近期美国频繁退出世界组织，改变了对待气候变化、国际贸易的态度，但在中东和平和伊朗核计划的问题上，欧盟依然需要与美国联合起来，应对这个世界给我们带来的挑战。同时，我们需要采用一种积极的态度，虽然其中一些行为可能会增加紧张局势，并在短期内使局势恶化。但我确信，欧盟作为一个集体决策机构将真正的团结起来，并与美国一起回到谈判桌前，保证多方共同利益。
《中国投资》：拉脱维亚作为欧盟成员国之一，如何看待欧盟在应对未来发展中遇到的挑战？
Ēriks Eglītis： 从欧盟角度看，拉脱维亚作为欧盟的一部分，也是欧盟价值观和单一市场的一部分。因此，我们坚定地和欧盟站在一起，支持人权、人类尊严，以及自由、民主、平等、法治方面等将欧盟团结起来的价值观。当然，我们知道欧盟也有其挑战——应对英国脱欧。一方面，由于欧盟作为不同国家联合体，自然需要更长的时间磨合并做出决策。有时候，一个决策需要花费比预期更长的时间，就像英国脱欧需要更长时间。这虽然是个挑战，但我确信我们能够做好，并能在英国脱欧后与英国维持良好关系。欧盟有信心在有效的时间里做出高质量的决策，我们坚信欧盟无疑将变得强大，并同时帮助拉脱维亚。
另一方面，各个国家都明白仅仅依靠自身，他们无法实现欧盟的目标规模。作为民主国家，他们明白，集体思维的力量是可以做出合理的长期决策。为了实现基于欧盟价值观的共同目标，我们都做好长期决策的准备。因此，在我们讨论同一目标时总是出现的多种观点，实际上，这正是欧盟的力量。
“16+1”框架
《中国投资》：您这次访华是为了参加第四届中国—中东欧投资贸易博览会（“16+1”世博会），请问您如何看待“16+1”框架，以及拉脱维亚与中国基于该平台的合作往来？
Ēriks Eglītis：“16+1”框架是拉脱维亚非常感兴趣的平台。所以，拉脱维亚支持这一框架，并将其视为“一带一路”倡议的一部分。在交通运输方面，拉脱维亚经济部部长去年五月在北京重申，愿意参与国际合作，成为连接欧亚的积极一员。所以，我们乐于见到这个框架未来的发展。拉脱维亚在地理位置上占据交通枢纽的有利地位，所以，这应该成为“一带一路”倡议的重要组成部分。正如所见，北欧与波罗的海地区通过拉脱维亚实现良好的连通。正在开发的新铁路走廊——泛波罗的海铁路项目，铁路将与欧洲标准一致，其线路北起爱沙尼亚首都塔林，经拉脱维亚首都里加、立陶宛的考纳斯至波兰首都华沙，然后向西至德国首都柏林，将形成大量的自由流通港口。所以，拉脱维亚邀请中国合作伙伴深入研究这个项目，研究我们如何能够在 这些活动中合作，以及拉脱维亚如何能进一步展示在这个领域的合作关系。作为“16+1”框架的一部分，物流秘书处也位于拉脱维亚首都里加，这也证明了拉脱维亚是中国在这一领域以及16+1倡议下的良好合作伙伴。
另一方面，今年11月份将在上海举办首届中国国际进口博览会，拉脱维亚很荣幸受邀参会，目前，拉脱维亚正在征集参展公司，我们希望很多公司会来参加，并将不同公司聚集在一起。其中一些公司已经与中国市场展开了合作，但我们计划吸引一些新公司。这确实为深化拉脱维亚和中国之间的合作提供了一些机会。拉脱维亚首先希望更多公司进入中国市场，当然还希望看到现有公司业务的增长，以及拉脱维亚向中国出口货物的增加。在博览会上，拉脱维亚将有机会展现自我。我们相信这一活动会巩固拉脱维亚在国际经济合作中的现有潜力。同时，拉脱维亚非常期待与中国在旅游产业的合作，对此，拉脱维亚期待着开通直飞航班，这对拉脱维亚的发展和建立直接的航班联系非常有益。
投资拉脱维亚
《中国投资》：拉脱维亚每年有多少中国访客？
Ēriks Eglītis：我知道，波罗的海国家每年中国访客人数略低于六万人，这个数字目前听起来并不多，但对小国来说这是一个很好的起点。每年拉脱维亚中国游客保持了10%的增长率，这表明了拉脱维亚是一个不错的旅游目的地。因此，我们正在努力发展旅游业，打造对中国友好的品牌。同时，我们也非常欢迎中国企业投资拉脱维亚，特别是投资大型项目，我们设有专门吸引外商直接投资的发展机构，这些机构可以在投资过程中提供帮助。
《中国投资》：贵国欢迎外来投资的主要领域有哪些？
Ēriks Eglītis：目前拉脱维亚以木材加工业闻名，这是我们最大的产业之一。但我们特别期待在物流和运输领域与中国的合作，另外，食品生产也是我们擅长的行业。当然，我们希望看到更多的投资进入到不同类型的行业和制造业中。例如，我们希望大力发展的金属加工业。目前，拉脱维亚的工业增长约占国内生产总值的12％，但我们希望增长到GDP的16％-18％，因此工业部门的外国投资将受到欢迎。
另外，拉脱维亚还非常感兴趣教育领域的发展。我们认识到，在地区范围内，我们有机会取得很好的教育成果，特别是信息和通信技术（ICT）。拉脱维亚正在努力建立伙伴关系，通过建立专门的信息和通信技术学校，可以每年培养多达二万五到三万学生，这对这个地区来说是相当大的人数。我们正在考虑如何吸引一些高水平的师资力量，我想我们需要深入研究一下这如何符合中方的兴趣。更重要的是，学校应获得怎样的资金联合投资模式，所以，我们正在研究运营此类学校最好的商业模式，并讨论提出实际的合作方案。现阶段，我们已经和中东、欧洲的潜在合作伙伴进行了洽谈。
《中国投资》：谈到信息和通信技术，目前，很多国家都在高科技领域展开了激烈的竞争，请问拉脱维亚在这个领域有怎样的布局？
Ēriks Eglītis：拉脱维亚在这方面积极努力了五年。 2013年10月1日，拉脱维亚内阁批准2014-2020年信息社会发展指导方针，这是当前的国家电子政务战略。制定了指导方针以确定信息通信技术的优先领域，并特别关注在公共行政中引入公开数据原则。为了进一步发展，拉脱维亚围绕数据驱动国家（DDN）发展的共同国家愿景，巩固了学术界，工业界和企业界。这个概念涉及高等教育机构，科学家，公共部门和企业家之间的合作。 2016年12月，拉脱维亚政府与拉脱维亚ICT业务合作备忘录签署。
此外，拉脱维亚是签署“人工智能合作宣言”的25个欧盟成员国之一。通过合作，欧洲人工智能的机会可以得到充分保证，而挑战可以集体处理。
拉脱维亚的信息通信技术能力已经确立。拉脱维亚世界级解决方案的实例，证明了国家在政府和私营部门数字化方面取得的进展。例如，5G是推动新创新的动力，有助于实现许多复杂任务的自动化，也是开发DDN的先决条件。移动网络运营商拉脱维亚移动电话与诺基亚合作是欧洲首批5G技术实施者之一。此外，2017年9月，拉脱维亚大学创新中心和微软 – 北欧首个同类中心 – 在里加开幕。该中心推动以云技术，物联网和人工智能为重点的跨学科IT项目，并为年轻专业人士提供IT教育和支持。
《中国投资》：您如何理解“一带一路”倡议下的中国与拉脱维亚的合作？以及“一带一路”倡议在全球经济发展中的意义？
Ēriks Eglītis：正如我刚刚所说的，就“一带一路”倡议而言，从拉脱维亚的立场看，我们把“16+1”框架视为“一带一路”倡议的一部分，并且我们正在积极参与“16+1”框架。所以，我们认为“16+1”框架也是中欧合作的良好模式。这需要双方的共同努力，拉脱维亚将自身视为物流和运输计划的一部分。因为拉脱维亚在波罗的海中心，“16+1”物流合作的秘书处位于里加，所以，这是我们正在参与的合作，拉脱维亚非常希望看到交通合作领域的进一步发展。我认为，中国是一个巨大的市场。因此，很多国家都希望与中国建立联系，欧洲国家都是如此。由此可见，这种集体合作就显得意义非凡。（编辑：张梅）
英文版
Connecting Asia and Europe
Interview with Mr. Ēriks Eglītis, State Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Republic of Latvia
Pei Andi, China Investment; Photo by Zhang Mei
From June 6th to 8th, Mr. Ēriks Eglītis, State Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Republic of Latvia, went to Ningbo to attend the 4th China-Central and Eastern European Investment & Trade Expo ("16 + 1" Expo). A total of 177 investment cooperation projects were launched at the expo, with a total investment intention of more than 10 billion euros. Mainly involved in energy, infrastructure, automotive, logistics, electronic information, agriculture, medical, chemical, and other fields, are all projects that Central and Eastern European countries have focused on for Chinese companies this year. On June 4, Mr. Ēriks Eglītis received an exclusive interview with China Investment at the Latvian Embassy in China.
Standing firmly with the European Union
China Investment: As an economic power, the United States has long had close trade relations with the European Union, from the international aspect, how do you think that the United States frequently exits from international organizations? Will this affect the relationship between Europe and the United States?
Ēriks Eglītis：First of all, the United States is the large country. They have their own government and take specific measures. We cannot assess whether it is good or bad. From the perspective of impact, Latvia, as a small economy within the EU, prefers multilateral agreements and collective decisions. The European Union and the United States are long-term strategic partners. Economics, values, and interests have brought the two sides into close contact. Terrorism, hacking, and nuclear threats have made it possible for the two parties to work closely together to deal with serious security issues in this century. Although the United States frequently withdraws from the world organizations and has changed its attitude towards climate change and international trade, the EU still needs to unite with the United States to deal with the challenges posed by the world in peace in the Middle East and Iran’s nuclear program. At the same time, Latvia needs to adopt a positive attitude, although some of these actions may increase tensions and worsen the situation in the short term. However, I am convinced that the EU as a collective decision-making body will truly unite and return to the negotiating table with the United States to ensure the common interests of many parties.
China Investment: How do you think the development prospects of the EU? What role will Latvia play in the development of the EU?
Ēriks Eglītis：From the EU perspective, Latvia, as part of the EU, is also part of the EU's values and single market. Therefore, we stand firm with the EU and support human rights, human dignity, and the values of freedom, democracy, equality, and the rule of law that unite the EU. Of course, we know that the EU also has its own challenge, which is to deal with Brexit. On the one hand, since the European Union is a consortium of different countries, it will naturally take longer to make a decision. Sometimes, a decision takes longer than expected, just as it takes longer for the UK to leave the country. Although this is a challenge, I am convinced that we can do well and that we can maintain a good relationship with the United Kingdom after Brexit. Therefore, the EU is confident to make high quality decisions in an effective time. We firmly believe that the EU will undoubtedly become stronger and at the same time help Latvia. On the other hand, all countries understand that if they rely on themselves, they cannot achieve the EU's target size. As democracies, they understand that the power of collective thinking can make reasonable long-term decisions. Therefore, in order to achieve common goals based on EU values, we are all prepared to sacrifice speed. Therefore, the various views that emerged when we discussed the same goal were actually the strength of the European Union.
"16+1" Expo
China Investment: Your visit to China is to attend the 4th China-Central and Eastern Europe Investment & Trade Expo ("16+1" Expo). How do you think of the "16+1" framework and the cooperation between Latvia and China based on this platform?
Ēriks Eglītis：The "16+1" framework is a very interesting platform for Latvia. Therefore, Latvia supports this framework and considers it part of the "One Belt One Road" initiative. In transportation, the Minister of Economic Affairs of Latvia reiterated in Beijing last year May that he is willing to participate in international cooperation and become an active member in connecting Europe and Asia. Therefore, we are happy to see the future development of this framework. Latvia has a geographically advantageous position as a transportation hub. Therefore, this should be an important part of the "Belt and Road Initiative." As you can see, Northern Europe and the Baltic region by Latvia good connectivity is developing new railway corridor — Rail Baltica, which will be in line with European standards, the line from the Estonian capital Tallinn, through the Latvian capital Riga, Kaunas of Lithuania, Polish capital Warsaw, and then to the west to the German capital Berlin, and will form a large number of free-flow ports. Therefore, Latvia invites Chinese partners to further study the project, to study how we can cooperate in these activities, and how Latvia can further demonstrate the cooperation in this field. As part of the "16+1" framework, the logistics secretariat is also located in Riga, Latvia, which also proves that Latvia is a good partner of China in this field and the “16+1” initiative.
On the other hand, in November of this year, the first China International Import Expo will be held in Shanghai. Latvia is honored to be invited to attend the conference. At present, Latvia is soliciting exhibition companies. We hope that many companies will come and join different companies. At the Expo, Latvia will be represented at an appropriate level. We believe that this event will reaffirm the existing wide potential for expanding economic cooperation at international level. Some of companies which are planning to attend the Expo have already cooperated with the Chinese market, but we are planning to attract some new companies. This does provide some opportunities for deepening cooperation between Latvia and China. Latvia first hopes that more companies will enter the Chinese market. Of course, they also hope to see the growth of the existing company's business and the increase of Latvian exports to China. At the same time, Latvia definitely look forward to grow also the tourism flow between China and Latvia. Latvia will look forward to have the direct flight connection, which would be very good really to grow for the Latvia and establishing direct flight connection.
Invest in Latvia
China Investment: How many Chinese people visit Latvia each year?
Ēriks Eglītis：I know that the Baltic States have little below sixty thousand Chinese visitors a year which doesn't sound too much at the moment, but for small destinations it is a great start. The growth of Chinese tourists in Latvia has been well over ten percent each year, which proves that Latvia is a nice destination and we are therefore proud to promote Latvian tourism industry to which follows the Chinese Friendly brand. At the same time, we also very much welcome Chinese companies to invest in Latvia, specifically in large scale projects. We have a special agency oriented towards fostering the attraction of foreign direct investments and, accordingly can help with the investment process.
China Investment:What is the major field of investment that your country welcomes?
Ēriks Eglītis：At the moment, Latvia is well known for the wood processing, that's one of our biggest industries, but especially we look towards China of course we would welcome more cooperation in logistics, logistics and transport, the food production, also is the industry where we are good at and of course we would like to see more investments coming in also in different types of industries and manufacturing to the world position in terms of metal processing well known in the area we would like to more growth at the moment industry of the Latvia is a little bit about twelve percent of GDP but we would like to see growing up to sixteen-eighteen percent of GDP, therefore the foreign investment in that sector would be very welcome.
And another thing what we are very interested in is the education field developments. We realized that we are very well positioned to create the education harvest specially ICT oriented education, Latvia is now trying to set up the partnership in order to establish the ICT specific school which could create as much as twenty-five or thirty hundred most students a year which is pretty big number for the region. We are considering how to attract some high-level teachers. I think we need to study in depth how this fits with China’s interest. More importantly, what type of joint investment model should the schools obtain? Therefore, we are studying the best business model for operating such schools and discussing the actual cooperation plans. At this stage, we have negotiated with potential partners in the Middle East and Europe.
China Investment: About ICT，many countries are now competing fiercely in the high-tech field. What is Latvia's position in this field?
Ēriks Eglītis： Latvia is actively working in this area for five years. On October 1, 2013, the Cabinet of Ministers of Latvia approved Information Society Development Guidelines for 2014-2020, which is the current national E-Government strategy. The Guidelines were elaborated to determine the priorities in ICT and draw a special attention to introduction of open data principle in public administration. To exploit further momentum, Latvia consolidated academia, industry and business around a common national vision for development of Data Driven Nation (DDN). The concept involves cooperation among higher education institutions, scientists, public sector, and entrepreneurs. In December 2016, the Memorandum of co-operation between the government of Latvia and Latvian ICT business was signed.
Moreover, Latvia is among 25 EU Member States that have signed the Declaration of cooperation on AI. By teaming up, the opportunities of AI for Europe can be fully ensured, while the challenges can be dealt with collectively.
Latvia’s ICT capacity is well established. Practical examples of Latvian world-class solutions that prove country’s progress on its way of digitalization of the government and private sectors. For instance, 5G is a driving force for new innovations that helps to automatize many complicated tasks and is also a precondition for developing the DDN. Mobile network operator Latvia Mobile Telephone in cooperation with Nokia is among the first implementers of 5G technology in Europe. Furthermore, in September 2017, the Innovation Centre at the University of Latvia and Microsoft – the first center of its kind in the North Europe – was opened in Riga. The center promotes interdisciplinary IT projects with a focus on cloud tech, the Internet of things, and AI, as well as offer IT education and support for young professionals.
China Investment: How do you think the cooperation between China and Latvia under the “One Belt and One Road” initiative? And the significance of the “One Belt And One Road” initiative in global economic development?
Ēriks Eglītis：As I mentioned before, regarding the “One Belt and One Road” Initiative, from the standpoint of Latvia, we regard the “16+1” framework as part of the “One Belt and One Road” Initiative and we are actively participating in. Therefore, we believe that the "16+1" framework is also a good model for China-EU cooperation. This requires the joint efforts of both parties and Latvia police which its logistics and transportation plans. Because Latvia is in the center of the Baltic Sea, the secretariat of the “16+1” logistics cooperation is located in Riga. Latvia hopes to see further development in the field of transportation cooperation. China is a huge market. Therefore, many countries hope to establish cooperation with China, as do European countries. Undoubtedly, the collective pathway is significantly valuable.
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The Ministry of Economics of Latvia has been established on March 1, 1990, is the leading state administrative institution in the field of economic policy formation in Latvia. The aim of the Ministry of Economics is to reach the competitiveness of the national economy at European level. Therefore, the Ministry promotes sustainable development of structurally and regionally balanced national economy. The Ministry is working closely with non-governmental organizations representing the entrepreneurs and other social partners.