30 years of diplomatic relations between Croatia and China ushered in their diamond era克罗地亚和中国30年的外交关系 开启了钻石时代

⬆ Senj windfarm（Pixsell）

 
Introduction

On 13 May 2022 we celebrated the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Croatia and China, and of the development of our partnership, which was strengthened and broadened by Croatia’s membership and activities within the European Union. As the President of the State Council Li Keqiang so illustriously described, during his official visit to Croatia in April 2019, Croatia and China are in the diamond era of our bilateral relations. This was confirmed during the years of the pandemic through solidarity and mutual support in many fields.

Cooperation between Croatia and China actually consists of four pillars: bilateral and EU-China as the foundations, which are complemented by Croatia’s participation in the Belt and Road Initiative and China-Central and Eastern Europe Cooperation. Encompassing excellent political relations, Croatia is more and more recognized in China for its geographical and economic advantages and placed on the map as a potential logistical route within the Belt and Road Initiative and Maritime Silk Road.

Croatia works with Chinese partners to attract more investors from China and to diversify their investments. It should be emphasized that Croatia offers many possibilities for Chinese investors and equal rights as for domestic investors, including various incentives, in both public and private projects ranging from infrastructural projects to smaller production based projects. Croatian Chamber of Economy has its office in Shanghai and together with the Embassy in Beijing serve as a first gateway in China into doing business, trade and investment with Croatia.

Why invest in Croatia? Croatia’s land area is 56.594 km², sea area is 31,067 km², and according to 2021 census, it has 3.89 million inhabitants. Sizewise, Croatia may not be a big country, in particular compared to Chinese numbers, but has an attractive location in Europe, excellent roads, quality workforce, competitive investment costs, ready investment projects and generous investment incentives. Likewise, the quality of life in Croatia is very high: it is a safe country, with welcoming population, tasty food, well-preserved nature, a mild climate, and abundant historical and tourist attractions. Any country in the world is as big as it makes itself, and Croatia is certainly performing well in this challenge.

Croatia is a popular vacation destination in Europe and the most visited tourist market in the Central and Eastern Europe region. But Croatia is not only popular due to its natural beauty, world-famous inventors and some of the best athletes of today, it is also popular on account of its ease of doing business, excellent investment incentives, well-prepared institutional infrastructure, competitive workforce and excellent quality of life.

 
⬆ Peljesac Bridge（Ivica Granic）

   Future oriented investment environment

Croatia is a modern economy, able to quickly adapt to all current challenges, with a focus on the future. Modern transport and energy infrastructure, untarnished soil, unpolluted sea and rich sources of fresh water provide the foundations for Croatia to build its future on and further advance in the European and world rankings.

Croatia reached a record GDP growth of 10.4% in 2021, which is expected to continue in the following years. Besides, Croatia’s credit rating is at an all time high. In November 2020 Moody’s has upgraded Croatia’s rating to Ba1 from Ba2 and changed the outlook to stable. In November 2021 Fitch upgraded the rating for another notch to BBB with a positive growth outlook. In March 2022, S&P affirmed Croatia’s credit rating at ‘BBB-/A-3’, with a stable outlook. Croatia is steadily progressing on the World Bank’s Doing Business and the Heritage Foundation Economic Freedom world rankings.

As the newest European Union member state, Croatia is well on the way to introduce the euro as our official currency from 1 January 2023, as the 20th state to adopt the EU currency, replacing our national currency kuna, meaning marten, whose fur was used as a means of exchange in the Middle Ages. Entering the euro area will eliminate the currency risk and exchange costs, reduce interest rates, boost foreign investment, and increase the possibility of financing on the capital market, which we are sure will have an additional effect on our credit rating. Croatian eurocoins of various denominations will feature Croatia’s unique geographical shape – of a horseshoe, croissant or a flying eagle, according to your inspiration – marten, famous inventor of alternate current and in that way modernity we live in today, Nikola Tesla, born in Croatia, and old Croatian Glagolitic script.

Being a member of NATO and the European Union, and on the way to the OECD membership, Croatia guarantees stability and the safety of business activities. Croatian legislation, harmonized with the postulates of the European Union, ensures business activities to the highest standard and opens the possibility of using EU funds. Agreements on avoidance of double taxation signed with over 50 countries provide investors in Croatia with additional benefits.

Croatia is open to foreign investments and the Croatian Government continues to prioritize attracting foreign investors. All investors, both foreign and domestic, are guaranteed equal treatment by law. We have a significant number of public and private projects available for investment, in the renewable energy sector, ICT, tourism sector, automotive industry, food industry, infrastructure, to name just a few. They are accessible on the official investment website Invest Croatia (investcroatia.gov.hr) of the Croatian Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, as the central point for overseeing of investment procedures.

According to the Croatian National Bank, the total foreign direct investment from 1993 to the end of 2021 in Croatia amounted 38.8 billion EUR, while FDI investment from China in the same period reached 159,9 million EUR. However, the actual real numbers are higher, as the investments from Chinese companies have been mostly realized via their European companies, subsidiaries or branches. In general, the most attractive sectors for FDI from 1993 to the end of 2021 in Croatia are financial services (28%), manufacturing (19%), trade (13%), real estate (13%) and ICT (8%).

The modern infrastructure and good connections with European countries opens up numerous opportunities for the development and implementation of investment projects in the sector of logistics, especially in the field of intermodal transportation, logistics and distribution centers.

Croatia’s unique geostrategical position makes Croatia a valuable part of the Belt and Road Initiative and Maritime Silk Road, as the ports on Croatia’s coast allow for up to 7 days shorter routes from Far East to Europe, compared to northern routes. Furthermore, as part of the EU, Croatia becomes the entry point for a market of over 500 million people. The Sea port of Rijeka is the largest port facility in Croatia, which accounts for more than 50% of total turnover of all Croatian ports. The port of Rijeka is also one of the most important ports for connecting the Far East and Central Europe with the shortest transit time of transport. Most prominent Chinese companies have chosen Croatian ports as their entry points or hub centres for Central and Eastern Europe. Croatia has highly developed road and rail network, the network of international seaports of great importance (Rijeka, Ploče, Šibenik, Zadar, Split, Dubrovnik), the network of river ports (Vukovar, Osijek, Slavonski Brod, Sisak) and airports (7 international airports: Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik, Zadar, Rijeka, Pula, Osijek), as well as inland waterways and intermodal terminals. The network of modern motorways place Croatia together among top European countries. Croatia aims to revitalise the entire railway network according to EU standards by increasing the capacity of the railway lines, the speed of travel and safety, with plans to upgrade  as many as 750 kilometres of railway lines between 2020 and 2030, offering opportunities to renowned Chinese companies to participate in public tenders.

Important infrastructure projects with Chinese partners

Croatia’s position, which links together the Mediterranean, Southeast and Central Europe, and the Danube Region, makes for an excellent strategic gateway to the markets of this part of Europe, thus reducing the maritime journey of goods by nearly a week. More and more Chinese partners are beginning to recognize such economic opportunities, as evidenced by the rising number of Chinese projects and investments in Croatia. Here, it is important to emphasize two such projects, whose completion was not even hindered by the pandemic.

Croatia awarded a tender for the construction of its symbolicaly most important infrastructure project, the Pelješac Bridge, which links two parts of Croatia, to the Chinese company China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC). This project has thus become not only a testimony of high trust between two countries, but also a way to showcase Chinese building expertise within the EU. The Pelješac Bridge is a pilot project for a Chinese company in the EU, by which CRBC had to adopt the standards of competition and implementation of the project according to EU standards, including those on public procurement and use of EU funds. Over 2400 m long multi-span extradosed cable-stayed bridge with orthotropic steel deck will be one of the largest European bridges. This landmark bridge will be officialy opened this summer, leaving a lasting bridge of Croatian-Chinese friendship and an example of Croatia-EU-China cooperation.

Another flagship project must be highlighted, as this is the biggest Chinese investment in Croatia to date: the construction of the largest wind farm in Croatia near the city of Senj by the Chinese company Norinco Internarnational finalized at the end of 2021. The 156-MW wind farm, consisting of thirty-nine 4-MW turbines, spreads over 45 square kilometres. The wind farm should be operating for 23 years, with an annual output of 530 million kWh. This project, which is worth 230 million Euro, is an excellent example of investment and green cooperation between Croatia and China.

Renewables and green transition are certainly one of Croatia’s priorities. Croatia is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 45% by 2030 and stop using coal by 2033, perhaps even sooner. Another goal is to reach 29% of renewables in end consumption by 2030, using the country’s own potential in the process. The concept of Croatia’s energy development must be based on new and clean technologies, innovation, and research to improve the quality of life and ensure the economy’s necessary transformation. Croatia met 29% of its energy needs from hydropower potential and its wind and solar parks, surpassing the renewable energy targets in the Europe 2020 strategy. Although Croatia has made progress in using its wind potential, solar and solar thermal are still underused compared to the obvious potential in our very sunny country. The estimated technical potential of solar power plants in Croatia is 5,303 MW, with an estimated production of 6.364 GWh of electrical energy annually. As we can see, incentives for further development of renewable energy resources are abundant and Chinese companies recognize this investment opportunity.

I am particularly pleased that some Croatian flagship companies are finding their way into doing business in China, yet I would like to see even more Croatian companies here. By improving the level of the playing field, and giving Croatian companies similar opportunities as CRBC and Norinco International have had in Croatia, I believe this can be accomplished to mutual benefit within our economic cooperation. World champion cloud communications platform provider Infobip and special vehicles producer DOK-ING are developing their partnerships with renowned Chinese companies and clients.

Infobip is a global cloud communications platform that enables businesses to build connections across all stages of the customer journey. With over fifteen years of industry experience, Infobip has expanded to 70+ offices across six continents offering natively built technology with the capacity to reach over seven billion mobile devices and ‘things’ in 190+ countries, connected directly to over 700 telecom networks. This includes established operations in Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou serving the local tech scene, startups and online firms seeking to expand outside mainland China.

DOK-ING and its partner XCMG established a joint venture in 2020, with the intention of entering the humanitarian demining and crisis management market in China using DOK-ING’s mature technology. With DOK-ING’s 30 years of R&D and sales experience in the field and XCMG’s production capabilities and market position in China, the cooperation between two parties was a logical step. The new company has, since establishment, however branched out beyond core markets and is currently involved in development of special purpose robots in the rescue field as well, which will further expand both companies’ product portfolio.  

There are also two more Croatian-Chinese joint ventures in China to be highlighted here. Croatian electrical equipment flagship company Končar, its branch Mjerni transformatori d.d. (KMT) joined with TBEA (Shenyang) Transformer Group Co., Ltd., while Croatian electric automobile company Rimac Automobili joined with the Chinese Camel Group in production of electric batteries. Mentioning Mate Rimac, we hope to see Rimac’s stunning hyperelectric car Nevera, which is a force liko no other, like the mighty Adriatic summer storm from which it takes its name, designed, engineered and handcrafted in Croatia, on Chinese roads soon. Mate Rimac established partnership with the Kingsway Group as the Rimac Automobili’s official partner in Greater China, with a spectacular showroom in Shanghai.

I would also like to mention renowned Croatian architectural design studio 3LHD that is behind the unique philosophy of the LN Garden hotel located in southern China’s Guangdong province, on the Zhu Jiang (Pearl River) estuary, part of the Nansha Seaside Park. The architectural concept is based on the idea of four wings oriented towards the main environmental features of the site: the sea, the river, the mountain and the park. Croatian design, in architecture and furniture, like the one from company Prostoria, is being recognized around the world, and I am pleased to see it entering China.  

The trade exchange between Croatia and China has been in constant growth (1,162 billion EUR in 2021), but it is characterized with significant trade deficit on the Croatian side. Recognizing the potential of China as one of the world’s leading economies and markets, Croatia is continuously investing efforts into bringing Croatian food and agricultural products to the Chinese market. More and more high quality Croatian products succeed in entering the vast Chinese market, with wine being the most prominent, to pair with cheese, while we would like other, such as tuna, fish, honey, meat products, to follow soon. Chinese citizens already have their Croatian favorites in China – Podravka’s Vegeta and Linolada – and we hope to present more Croatian food products in the future. From China, Croatia mostly imports special purpose vessels, automatic data processing machines, electric generators and converters, and iron and steel constructions. Croatia exports to China mostly processed wood, presses for rubber or plastic products molding, special purpose motor vehicles, cut marble and travertine, and food preparations for animal feed.

Experience Croatia: #CroatiaFullOfLife
I am certain you heard that Croatians here are talking about some Croatian contributions to humanity. The necktie (cravat), which first appeared as a part of the Croatian military uniform in the form of a picturesque adornment around the necks of Croatian soldiers in the Thirty Years War, was also accepted as a mark of elegance throughout the world. Croatia is still proud of this historical gem, and 18 October is commemorated as Cravat Day. Thanks to the Croatian computer programmer Tomislav Uzelac, MP3 Players have become an essential part of our everyday life. The Dalmatian dog, the best-known indigenous Croatian canine breed, without which the famous Disney cartoon 101 Dalmatians would never have been made, also originates from the part of Croatia that bears its name. The “European Great Wall” is in the south of Croatia, around the old city and sea saltworks of Ston. There is also evidence that Marco Polo, who travelled the old Silk Road and brought Europe and Asia closer together, was born in the Croatian city and island of the same name, Korčula, then a part of the Venetian Republic.

The pre-pandemic year of 2019 was particulary significant for our two countries in the tourism sector. Not only it was proclaimed as the Croatian-Chinese Year of Culture and Tourism, but in 2019 Croatia recorded a highest number of Chinese tourists (from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan), with almost 500 000 arrivals and more than 650 000 overnight stays, which was also a sign of an enviable dynamic of positive change in economic relations between two countries. This steady growth created solid grounds for final introduction of direct flights between China and Croatia, but unfortunately, the start of pandemic postponed this project. Croatia is proud to be listed as one of the most desirable world tourist destinations for this year, despite all the challenges of the pandemic. After lifting all the restrictions for entering the country in April, we are ready to mark a new record number of Chinese tourists visiting our country. I invite all your readers to start their journey to Croatia today on the website of the Croatian National Tourist Board (croatia.hr) and on Weibo account of its Shanghai Office at https://weibo.com/u/7306864965.

Conclusion
With the strong partnership relations, increasing investment dinamics and enviable advances of increasing Chinese tourist arrivals, which we hope to witness again after the pandemic, we can truly say that the future holds a bright perspective for further development of our relations in all aspects. Croatia indeed gives high importance to furthering cooperation with China in all spheres of mutual interest. As I often say, we owe it to the legacy of Marco Polo to strengthen our cooperation and bonds. To revert to Premier Li’s assessment, diamonds are not only sparkling and valuable, but also strong, just like the Croatian-Chinese friendship and partnership.

2022年5月13日，我们庆祝了克罗地亚与中国建立外交关系30周年，这也是我们伙伴关系发展的30年。克罗地亚在欧盟的成员资格和活动也加深和扩大了我们的伙伴关系。正如中国国务院总理李克强在2019年4月正式访问克罗地亚期间所精彩描述的那样，克罗地亚和中国正处于双边关系的钻石时代。这一点通过疫情期间双方在许多领域的团结和相互支持已经得到了印证。

克罗地亚与中国的合作实际上包括四大支柱：以双边和欧盟与中国的关系为基础；以克罗地亚参与“一带一路”倡议和中国与中东欧合作为补充。克罗地亚拥有良好的政治环境，其地理和经济优势在中国越来越得到认可，并被列为“一带一路”倡议和海上丝绸之路的潜在物流线路。

克罗地亚与中国伙伴的合作吸引了更多的中国投资者，从而实现了投资的多元化。应该强调的是，克罗地亚为中国的投资者提供了许多可能性，并且赋予他们与国内投资者同样平等的权利，包括在公共和私人项目上的各种激励措施，从基础设施项目到小型生产性项目。克罗地亚商会在上海设有办事处，并与驻北京大使馆一道成为中国与克罗地亚开展业务、贸易和投资的第一门户。

为什么要在克罗地亚投资？克罗地亚的陆地面积为56.594平方公里，海域面积为31067平方公里。根据2021年的人口普查，克罗地亚现有居民389万。从数量上看，克罗地亚可能不是一个大国，尤其是与中国的人口相比。但克罗地亚在欧洲有着优越的地理位置、完善的交通设施、高质量的劳动力、有竞争力的投资成本、现成的投资项目以及非常优惠的投资激励政策。与此同时，克罗地亚的生活质量也很高：它是一个安全的国家，人民热情友好，食物美味，自然保护完整，气候温和，并且拥有丰富的历史和旅游景点。世界上任何一个国家，无论大小，都可以依靠自身的实力实现强大。克罗地亚在迎接挑战时的表现无疑是很好的。

克罗地亚是欧洲非常受欢迎的度假胜地，也是中欧和东欧地区到访游客人数最多的旅游市场。克罗地亚之所以受欢迎，不仅是因为它拥有的自然美景、世界知名的发明家和当今最优秀的运动员，还因为它的营商便利化、极佳的投资激励政策、准备充分的体育基础设施、极具竞争力的劳动力和优越的生活品质。

 
⬆ Plitvice 湖（Luka Esenko）

面向未来的投资环境

克罗地亚是一个现代经济体，不仅能够迅速适应当前的所有挑战，而且也会着眼未来。现代化的交通和能源基础设施、洁净的土壤、未受污染的海洋和丰富的淡水资源为克罗地亚在欧洲和世界范围构建未来和取得更大发展奠定了基础。

克罗地亚的GDP增长率在2021达到创纪录的10.4%，预计未来几年还将继续增长。此外，克罗地亚的信用评级也处在历史最高水平。2020年11月，评级机构穆迪将克罗地亚的评级从Ba2上调至Ba1，并将其前景改为稳定。2021 11月，评级机构惠誉再次将其评级上调至BBB，并对其增长前景表示乐观。2022年3月，标准普尔确认克罗地亚的信用评级为“BBB-/A-3”，也同样认为其前景稳定。克罗地亚在世界银行的“营商环境”和传统基金会的“经济自由世界”的排名方面也在稳步上升。

作为欧盟最新的成员国，克罗地亚正在准备从2023年1月1日开始将欧元作为其官方货币，并成为第20个使用欧盟货币的国家，从而取代其国家货币库纳（库纳的意思是貂，它的毛皮在中世纪时被用作交易方式）。加入欧元区将消除货币风险和汇率成本，降低利率，促进外国投资，并增加资本市场融资的可能性，因此我们确信这将对我们的信用评级产生更好的影响。各种面值的克罗地亚欧元货币将体现克罗地亚独特的地理形状——你可以把它想象成马蹄铁、羊角面包或飞鹰，以及貂、克罗地亚出生的尼古拉·特斯拉，他是令我们生活在现代社会的交流电发明者和古老的克罗地亚格拉戈里文字。

克罗地亚是北约和欧盟的成员国，并正在准备成为经合组织的成员，因此克罗地亚能够保证商业活动的稳定和安全。克罗地亚的立法与欧盟的规定相一致，这就确保了其商业活动能够达到最高标准，并为使用欧盟的资金开辟了可能性。而其与50多个国家签署的避免双重征税的协定则为克罗地亚的投资者们提供了更多的益处。

克罗地亚对外国投资开放，克罗地亚政府也继续采取优先吸引外国投资者的政策。法律保障所有国内外投资者享有平等待遇。我们有大量的公共和私人项目可供投资，包括可再生能源领域、信息通信技术领域、旅游业、汽车行业、食品行业、基础设施等。这些投资项目可以在克罗地亚经济和可持续发展部的官方投资网站(investcroatia.gov.hr）上看到，该部是监督投资程序的重心。

根据克罗地亚国家银行的数据，从1993年到2021年底，克罗地亚的外国直接投资总额为388亿欧元，而其中来自中国的投资达到1.599亿欧元。不过，实际数字要比这高出很多，因为中国公司的投资大多是通过其在欧洲的公司、子公司或分支机构完成的。总体来说，从1993年到2021年底，克罗地亚对外国直接投资最具吸引力的部门是金融服务业（28%）、制造业（19%）、贸易（13%）、房地产（13%）及信息和通信技术（8%）。

现代化的基础设施和与欧洲国家的顺畅连接为物流领域投资项目的开发和实施，特别是多式联运、物流和配送中心方面的投资项目，提供了众多机会。

克罗地亚独特的地理战略位置使其成为“一带一路”倡议和海上丝绸之路的重要组成部分，因为相较于北部航线，克罗地亚海岸的港口可以使从远东到欧洲的航行时间缩短7天。此外，作为欧盟的成员国，克罗地亚还是进入拥有5亿多人口的市场的入口。里耶卡海港是克罗地亚最大的港口设施，占克罗地亚所有港口货物周转的50%以上。里耶卡港还是连接远东和中欧的最重要港口之一，而且其过境时间最短。大多数著名的中国公司都选择将克罗地亚的港口作为其进入中欧和东欧的入口或枢纽中心。克罗地亚拥有高度发达的公路和铁路网络、重要的国际海港网络（里耶卡、普洛什、什比尼克、扎达尔、斯普利特、杜布罗夫尼克）、内河港口网络（武科瓦尔、奥西耶克、斯拉沃恩斯基兄弟、西萨克）和机场网络（7个国际机场：萨格勒布、斯普利特、杜布罗夫尼克、扎达尔、里耶卡、普拉、奥西耶克），以及内河航道和多式联运码头。现代高速公路网络使克罗地亚跻身欧洲顶级国家的行列。克罗地亚当下的目标是根据欧盟标准，通过提高铁路线的运力、旅行速度和安全性来振兴整个铁路网，并计划在2020年至2030年期间升级多达750公里的铁路线，这为中国的知名公司提供了参与公开招标的机会。

 与中国伙伴合作的重要基础设施项目

克罗地亚所处的地理位置将地中海、东南欧和中欧以及多瑙河地区连接在一起，是通往欧洲这一地区市场绝佳的战略门户，而且可以将海上货物运输的时间减少近一周。越来越多的中国合作伙伴开始认识到这样的经济机会，中国在克罗地亚的项目和投资数量的不断增加就是充分的证明。在此，必须强调两个这样的项目，它们的建设完成甚至没有受到新冠疫情的阻碍。

中国路桥公司（CRBC）中标了克罗地亚最重要的基础设施项目佩列沙茨大桥的施工，该大桥连接了克罗地亚的两个部分。这不仅证明了两国之间的高度信任，而且也向欧盟展示了中国在建筑领域所具备的非同一般的专业技能。佩列沙茨大桥是中国公司在欧盟的试点项目，中国路桥公司严格按照欧盟的标准竞争和落实该项目，包括那些公共采购和使用欧盟资金的协议。这座长达2400米的采用对称的钢桥面板的多跨矮塔斜拉桥将成为欧洲最大的桥梁之一。这座具有里程碑意义的大桥将于今年夏天正式开通，它是克中持久友谊的象征，也是克罗地亚-欧盟-中国合作的榜样。

另一个必须强调的旗舰项目是迄今为止中国在克罗地亚最大的投资：由中国北方国际合作股份有限公司（Norinco International）于2021年底完成的位于圣吉市附近的克罗地亚最大风电场的建设。这个156兆瓦的风电场由39台4兆瓦的涡轮机组成，占地45平方公里。该风电场可以运营23年，年发电量为5.3亿千瓦时。该项目价值2.3亿欧元，是克罗地亚和中国之间投资和绿色合作的极好范例。

可再生能源和绿色转型无疑是克罗地亚的优先事项之一。克罗地亚期望到2030年将二氧化碳的排放量减少45%，到2033年甚至可能更早停止使用煤炭。另一个目标是到2030年，利用本国自身的潜力，使可再生能源的终端消费量达到29%。克罗地亚的能源发展理念是必须以新的清洁技术、创新和研究为基础，目的是提高生活质量，并确保经济的必要转型。克罗地亚29%的能源需求来自其水力发电能力以及风能和太阳能产业园，这已经超过了欧洲2020年战略中的可再生能源的目标。虽然克罗地亚在利用其风能潜力方面取得了进展，但对比国家阳光充足的明显潜力，太阳能和太阳热能的利用仍然不足。据估计克罗地亚太阳能发电厂的技术潜能可达到5303 兆瓦，年发电量为6.364 亿瓦时。由此我们可以看到，进一步开发可再生能源的潜能是巨大的，中国公司也认识到了这一投资机会。

我特别高兴的是，一些克罗地亚的旗舰公司也正在寻求在中国开展业务的途径，我希望能在中国看到更多的克罗地亚公司。通过提高竞争环境的水平，并给予克罗地亚公司与中国路桥公司和北方国际在克罗地亚拥有的类似机会，相信我们在中国的经济合作中是能够实现互利的。世界领先的云通信平台提供商英富必（Infobip）和特种车辆制造商DOK-ING正在与中国的知名公司和客户发展合作关系。

英富必是一个全球云通信平台，它可以使企业在客户运营的各个阶段与其建立联系。凭借超过15年的行业经验，它已经在六大洲成立了70多个办事处。通过使用在当地构建的技术，它能够覆盖190多个国家的70多亿个移动设备和“东西”，并直接连接到700多个电信网络。这其中就包括在深圳、北京、上海和杭州建立的服务于当地科技领域的运营机构，以及寻求在中国大陆以外发展的初创公司和在线公司。

DOK-ING与其合作伙伴徐工集团在2020年成立了一家合资公司，旨在利用DOK-ING的成熟技术进入中国的人道主义排雷和危机管理市场。凭借DOK-ING在该领域30年的研发和销售经验，以及徐工在中国的生产能力和市场地位，双方的合作非常合乎逻辑。自成立以来，这家新公司已经超越了核心市场，目前还参与了救援领域专用机器人的开发，这将进一步扩大两家公司的产品组合。

还有另外两家克罗地亚与中国的合资企业也值得重点介绍。克罗地亚电气设备旗舰公司Končar及其分公司Mjerni变压器公司（KMT)与沈阳特变电工变压器集团有限公司的联手以及克罗地亚电动汽车公司Rimac Automobili与中国骆驼集团合作生产电池。提到Mate Rimac，我们希望很快能在中国的道路上看到Rimac令人惊叹的超级电动汽车锐马克，它的力量无与伦比，就像强大的亚得里亚海夏季风暴一样，它的名字就是由此而来，它的设计、生产和手工制造均在克罗地亚完成，很快就会出现在中国的公路上。Mate Rimac作为Rimac Automobili在大中华区的合作商，与中国的金斯威集团建立了合作关系，并在上海设立了一个非常壮观的展厅。

我还想提一下著名的克罗地亚建筑设计工作室3LHD，它是位于中国南部广东省珠江口南沙海滨公园的广州南沙花园酒店的设计方，其设计理念相当独特。它的建筑造型像四个翅膀，这是源于酒店所处的主要环境特征：海、河、山和公园。克罗地亚在建筑和家具方面的设计，就像克罗地亚的家具品牌Prostoria一样，正在得到全世界的认可，因此我很高兴看到它也进入了中国。

克罗地亚和中国之间的贸易额一直在不断增长（2021年为11620亿欧元），但克罗地亚方面的贸易逆差很大。克罗地亚已经认识到中国作为世界领先经济体和市场之一的潜力，因此正在不断努力地将克罗地亚的食品和农产品推向中国市场。越来越多高品质的克罗地亚产品已经成功进入了巨大的中国市场，其中葡萄酒的表现最为突出，紧随其后的是奶酪。我们希望其他产品，如金枪鱼、鱼、蜂蜜、肉制品，也能很快跟进。中国的消费者已经在中国市场找到了克罗地亚人最喜欢的食品——普罗乔夫卡的贝吉塔和利乐拉达，我们希望未来能够为中国提供更多的克罗地亚食品。克罗地亚从中国主要进口专用船舶、自动数据处理设备、发电机和转换器以及钢铁结构。克罗地亚向中国出口的主要是加工木材、橡胶或塑料制品成型机、专用汽车、切割大理石和凝灰石，以及用于动物饲料的食品制剂。

 
体验克罗地亚：充满活力的克罗地亚等待你来体验

我相信你们已经听到一些克罗地亚人对人类做出的贡献。领带（领结）最初是克罗地亚军服的一部分，在三十年战争中以一种别具一格的装饰形式出现在克罗地亚士兵的脖子上，后来被全世界作为优雅的标志所接受。克罗地亚现在仍对这一历史瑰宝感到骄傲，并将10月18日定为领结日作为纪念。受益于克罗地亚计算机程序员托米斯拉夫·乌泽拉克，MP3播放器已经成为我们日常生活中必不可少的一部分。达尔马提亚犬是克罗地亚同名地区最著名的本土犬种，如果没有它，著名的迪士尼卡通101斑点狗恐怕永远也不会诞生。“欧洲长城”位于克罗地亚南部，环绕着斯托老城和它的海水盐场。还有证据表明，马可·波罗出生在克罗地亚一个同名的城市和岛屿——Korčula，它当时是威尼斯共和国的一部分。马可·波罗曾沿着古老的丝绸之路旅行，拉近了欧洲和亚洲的距离。

新冠疫情暴发前的2019年对两国的旅游业尤为重要。这不仅是因为这一年被宣布为克罗地亚与中国的文化和旅游年，而且因为2019年克罗地亚接待的中国游客的数量创了记录（包括来自中国大陆、香港、澳门、台湾的游客）。近50万人次抵达，超过65万人次过夜，这也是两国经济关系呈现积极变化的一个令人羡慕的迹象。这种稳定的增长为中国和克罗地亚之间的直飞奠定了坚实的基础，但遗憾的是，疫情的暴发推迟了这一项目。不过虽然疫情带来了种种挑战，但今年克罗地亚仍被列为世界上最理想的旅游目的地之一，这令克罗地亚感到非常自豪。在4月取消所有入境限制后，我们已经做好中国游客人数再创新纪录的准备。我邀请所有读者在克罗地亚国家旅游局的网站和其在上海的办事处的微博（https://weibo.com/u/7306864965）上准备开启你们的克罗地亚之旅。

 
寄语

我们希望在疫情后能够再次见证两国之间牢固的伙伴关系、不断增长的投资和中国游客数量令人羡慕的增长，我们也相信未来我们在各个方面的关系都会拥有光明的发展前景。克罗地亚高度重视与中国在享有共同利益的所有领域进一步合作。正如我经常说的那样，我们应该感谢马可·波罗留给我们的遗产，它使我们的合作和关系得以深化。回到李克强总理的评价，钻石不仅闪烁和珍贵，而且非常坚固，就像克中友谊和伙伴关系一样。