我坚信克罗地亚参与到一带一路倡议中将会造福于沿线的国家和人民，尤其是在港口建设和海路互通、铁路公路建设和航空互通以及旅游业方面
文/克罗地亚驻华大使奈博伊沙·科哈罗维奇Mr. NebojšaKoharović
一带一路倡议是将丝绸之路经济带和海上丝绸之路重新焕发活力的现代贸易战略，意在重新振兴和开放沿线区域的市场。
习近平主席提出的一带一路倡议已经在国际政经圈内引起了广泛兴趣。这一倡议已经被认可为一个连接陆路、海上以及各大走廊和各大区域的发展战略以及推动投资和互联互通的广阔平台。
地缘优势
克罗地亚在历史上就处于欧洲与中国之间古贸易通道版图的重要位置。对欧中交流做出巨大贡献的伟大探险家马可·波罗就诞生在克罗地亚的科尔丘拉岛。从这个角度来看，处于独特地缘位置的克罗地亚可能会在这21世纪的倡议中发挥显著作用。
丝绸之路是成型于中国汉朝的贸易路线网络。丝路自东起于长安（现在的西安）一直延伸到西方的地中海，将中国与古罗马帝国连接起来。因为丝绸是主要的贸易产品，德国地理学家费迪南德·范·李希霍芬在1877年将其命名为“丝绸之路”。这不仅仅是一条路，而且是一系列的贸易线路，这些贸易线路使得中国、印度、波斯、阿拉伯半岛、古希腊、古罗马和地中海国家建立起贸易和文化往来。丝路在唐朝时达到顶峰，但是在蒙古人建立起元朝后开始衰落，尤其是随着沿途的政治势力变得四分五裂之后。大约在公元1453年，丝绸之路作为货物运输路线的使命随着奥斯曼帝国的兴起而终止，因为该帝国的统治者对西方持有敌意。现在是重建这一贸易路线的时候了。
两国关系
作为马可·波罗的故乡，克罗地亚理所应当欢迎像一带一路这样的倡议，我们也期待与中国和欧洲的朋友一起强化双边合作，尤其是基于中国-中东欧“16+1合作”平台以及中国-欧盟对华机制框架内的合作。
尽管各个合作平台或者框架形式和名称会有不同，但目标却一致——合作与包容、伙伴关系和共同繁荣。
克罗地亚和中国长期以来一直是友邦。
两国友谊经受住了我们两个国家各自困难时期的挑战——但合作始终保持不变——这一友谊几十年来坚定和富有成果，现在仍然如此。这一友谊也是我们双方都深切感激和珍视的。我们两个国家在20世纪经历了相似的历史进程：争取国家独立的斗争，建立最适合自己国家发展实际的政治和社会制度。克罗地亚人民对于中国人民和国家领导人在克罗地亚独立战争（也被称作家园战争）期间给予的支持深表感激。中方给予的支持将在克罗地亚人民的心中永被铭记。
我们两国的双边关系从建交伊始就开放而且友谊深厚。自从克罗地亚被承认为独立国家以来，克中两国已经保持了23年的紧密合作关系。2017年将是两国建交25周年。
但同样值得一提的是，我们两国的友谊有着更深的渊源——正如上文所提到的，可以一直追溯到马可·波罗时代。
我们的双边互信和理解是基于我们坚定地认为中国是在全球不断变化的环境中的关键一员。
实现共同繁荣
中国的发展模式正在转向依赖技术和创新，而这也可以从对克罗地亚公司的对口投资中体现。举几个例子，中国动力(控股)有限公司已经对生产世界上最快的电动跑车制造商里马克汽车公司（RimacCars）投资；深圳市索米威科技有限公司已成为克罗地亚智能手机制造商汉加18（Hangar 18）的长期战略合作伙伴；中国风险投资公司海银资本已经投资了克罗地亚无线充电技术企业WiTricity。
克罗地亚一直以来都致力于提升国内的投资和商业环境，政府出台了刺激措施，致力于减少投资障碍和提升管理水平。
克罗地亚国内生产总值与2014年相比增加了1.2％。这是好消息，因为这意味着长达6年的经济衰退的结束。 2015年的国内生产总值增长率为1.8％，工业增长率更高，位居欧盟前4之列。2015年上半年在克罗地亚的外国投资价值已经达到4.98亿欧元。我们在2015年上半年出口增加了12％，达到60亿欧元。进口也有所增加达到了6.3％，总数达到91亿欧元。这些都是克罗地亚经济复苏非常明显的迹象。
我坚信克罗地亚参与到一带一路倡议中，将会造福于沿线的国家和人民，尤其是在港口建设和海路互通、铁路公路建设和航空互通以及旅游业方面。
我们期待看到更多的中国投资进入欧洲，欧洲已经是外商投资的头号目的地。欧盟委员会已经把吸引投资列为其核心议程。该委员会已经推出了欧洲投资计划，旨在欧洲范围内额外吸引3150亿欧元投资。中国已申请成为欧洲复兴开发银行（EBRD）的成员，以增进与欧洲和亚洲其他国家的贸易联系。欧盟各成员国对此表示欢迎，就像他们欢迎许多欧洲国家都申请成为亚洲基础设施投资银行（AIIB）的创始成员一样，因为亚投行的创立可以为多边开发银行机制提供补充，并有助于解决亚洲的基础设施投资需求。
欧洲和中国的领导人已决定支持双方的旗舰战略的协同运作。在欧盟内部和外部增进互联互通不仅仅是欧盟的最重要政治目标之一，也是支撑其存在的核心理念的重要部分。中国也有意加入到这一共同的进程中无疑是好消息。中国与欧盟已经就如何进一步实施这项合作的主要原则达成了协议。现在我们讨论的是怎么样通过实际的项目来落实，以使得整个一带一路沿线地区实现共同繁荣。
克罗地亚是这种互联互通理念可以落地生根的一个很好的例子。虽然我们的基础设施比较发达——我们在过去的10年中建造了650公里高质量的高速公路，使得我们在欧洲的人均高速公路里程达到第一。我们需要更多的投入来提升港口基础设施，建设现代化的铁路系统以及提升能源和旅游产业。
例如，在去年的华沙会议上，中方提出建立中国－欧洲陆海快线，以增进丝绸之路沿线地区之间的互联互通。该提案的一部分是建设一条海港走廊来连接亚得里亚海与波罗的海之间的港口。该提案明确提到了克罗地亚最大的里耶卡港。所以克罗地亚政府邀请外国投资者探讨投资该港口的可能性，来进行里耶卡港的现代化改造和提升管理水平。
由于从其对宏观区域方面的重要性方面和估值方面来看，大多数项目都是比较大的，我们将需要依靠不同的投资商来保证项目的资金来源。从这方面来讲，我们不会将我们的选择限制在唯一的投资来源；我们将在欧盟基金、机构和个人投资者之间以及来自世界不同地区的国有的和私人的合作伙伴之间寻求多样化的投资来源。
我们非常感兴趣地看到，在资金的需求方面中国方面已表示愿意适应项目的个性化需求，并将项目的所有情况纳入到考虑范围之内，包括项目的价值以及它的融资模式或者方法。
一带一路倡议的核心在于打造一个囊括古丝绸之路上的国家经济带，这一经济带穿越中亚、西亚、中东和欧洲，并包括一个海上线路将中国的港口设施与非洲海岸的港口相连接，并且通过苏伊士运河进入地中海。
中国对于经济增长态势变化的反应体现对内和对外政策两个方面。从对外政策来看，在国内产能过剩的时候中国推出这些耗资巨大的新倡议新举措并不仅仅是巧合，如亚洲基础设施投资银行、金砖国家银行和一带一路战略。这些意在加强从中国经中亚向西的陆路基础设施通道和强化中国经东南亚向南的海上基础设施通道，进而到达南亚、非洲和欧洲。
一带一路倡议是增进与沿线国家合作的好机会，也是增强克罗地亚共和国和中国人民共和国友好关系尤其是经济合作关系的好机会。我期待两国之间进一步强化经济往来、深化合作、尤其是旅游方面的合作。
近年来两国民间交往也非常频繁，并且呈双向平衡发展趋势，2014年大约有15万中国游客去克罗地亚旅游，比2013年增加了50%，克罗地亚人也越来越多地来华旅游和学习。
旅游合作是非常重要的——它有助于两国之间不断深化经贸交流，不断增进中国和克罗地亚两国人民的友谊。我相信，一带一路倡议将有助于所有参与该倡议国家的游客，特别是中国游客，认可克罗地亚作为地中海主要旅游目的地之一的吸引力。
克中两国的城市和地方政府间也在加强合作，并成为伙伴城市——像斯普利特和杭州——去年我们也庆祝了萨格勒布和上海之间建立伙伴关系35周年。
克罗地亚地处欧洲心脏，我们需要更好地利用这一得天独厚的地缘战略位置。尽管我们仍生活在动荡和不确定时期，也受困于不稳定的复苏和疲弱的经济增长，但这些都是我们需要准备克服并希望避免的障碍。
正如中国古老智慧所教导我们的，危机也意味着机会，所以我们要利用中国对中东欧重新展现出政治和经济方面的热情所带来的机会，提升我们的比较优势和竞争优势。
这一热情扩张到社会的不同领域。它使我们之间的距离更近，帮助我们彼此更好地相互理解。
学术界、记者、旅游专家和青年等不同人群之间也已经强化了彼此间的关系，并正在寻找新的合作形式，互动也变得比以往更强、更快。
这些因素将使得我们的合作更有协同性，并产生增值效果，并将进一步增进双方的了解和人民之间的友谊。
在几个世纪之前古丝绸之路曾将我们连接起来，现在这一丝路已经在一带一路等倡议下在我们的时代复苏。在未来，它将重新焕发昔日所发挥的至关重要的作用，使得21世纪的互联互通蓬勃发展，并进一步展示它的潜力。我们都见证和推动了这一点。
在我看来，要取得最好的效果，我们应该共同努力，在下面3个主要领域共同努力来寻找答案和解决方案：一是选择的标准、兼容性和各个项目的融资问题；二是增强负责审批和管理各个项目的金融机构之间的协调水平；三是协调不同国家之间的规章制度来允许货物、服务、资本和人才的自由流动。
如果这些敏感和复杂的领域能够取得进展的话，我们国家之间的双赢合作将会带来双边共识和繁荣的新时代。
As a homeland of Marco Polo,Croatia embraces One Belt,One Road initiative
By H.E Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia, Mr.NebojšaKoharović
OneBelt One Road Initiative is the initiative to activate and strengthen moderntrade routes of Silk Road Economic Belt and Maritime Silk Road with the hope torejuvenate and open up markets within the regions which are parts of the route.
The“One Belt, One Road” initiative, proposed by President Xi Jinping, hasattracted wide interest among the political and economic circles worldwide. Ithas been recognized both as a development strategy and broad platform to fosterinvestment and improve connectivity throughout land and sea routes andcorridors and among broader regions.
In history, Croatiawas on the map of the ancient trade routes between Europe and China. The bigcontribution has been made by the great explorer Marko Polo who was born on theCroatian island of Korcula. In this light Croatia, with its own geostrategicposition, could have a significant role in this modern initiative of the 21stcentury.
The Silk Road was anetwork of trade routes, formally established during the Han Dynasty. The roadoriginated from Chang'an (now Xian) in the east and ended in the Mediterraneanin the West, linking China with the Roman Empire. As China’s silk was the majortrade product, German geographer Ferdinand von Richthofen coined it the SilkRoad in 1877. It was not just one road but rather a series of major traderoutes that helped build trade and cultural ties between China, India, Persia,Arabia, Greece, Rome and Mediterranean countries. It reached its height duringthe Tang Dynasty, but declined in the Yuan dynasty, established by the MongolEmpire, as political powers along the route became more fragmented. The SilkRoad ceased to be a shipping route for silk around 1453 with the rise of theOttoman Empire, whose rulers opposed the West. Now it is time to rebuild it.
Asthe homeland of Marco Polo, it is somehow natural that Croatia has embraced theinitiatives such as One Belt One Road and we look forward to work together withour Chinese and European friends strengthening bilateral cooperation,cooperation in the China + 16 CEEC platform and cooperation in the scope of thebroad EU-China dialogue.
Theforms and names are perhaps different, but the goals are the same – cooperationand inclusiveness, partnership and prosperity.
Croatiaand China have been good friends for a long time.
Thisfriendship has endured difficult times both of our countries have been goingthrough individually – but the cooperation has always remained the same – ithas been firm and fruitful through the decades and remains to be so. This isthe friendship we deeply appreciate and cherish. Both of our countries had ahard history through 20th century with lot of similarities: strugglefor independence, forming of the political and social system that merits itsdevelopment the best. Croatian people are deeply grateful to people andleadership of the People’s Republic of China for their support during Croatianwar for independence – Homeland war. This attitude of Chinese side would alwaysbe remembered in hearts and minds of Croatian people.
Startingfrom the very beginning, our bilateral relations have been open and friendly.China and Croatia have enjoyed 23 years of close cooperation since our countrywas recognized as the independent state. In 2017 we will celebrate 25 years ofdiplomatic relations.
But,it would be fair to say that our friendship has even deeper roots – as it wasmentioned – from Marko Polo times.
Ourmutual trust and understanding are based on the firm positionthat China is one of the key global players in our dynamic global environment.
TheChinese growth and developing model is transforming towards technology andinnovation, which is reflected also in investment in Croatian companies fromsimilar fields. Just a few examples: Sinocop Resources has invested in RimacCars – the producer of the fastest electric car in the world; Sumviertechnology became long term strategic partner of Croatian smartphone producerHangar 18 and Chinese venture capital fund Haiyin Capital has invested inWiTricity, advanced company for wireless battery charging.
Croatiahas been continuously working on improving its investment and business climateby incentive measures, removal of obstacles and improvement of regulations.
CroatianGDP has increased 1.2 percent when compared with 2014 and this represents goodnews indeed as we have come to an end of the six years long recession. The GDPgrowth for 2015 was 1.8 percent and for the industrial production was even morepromising, placing us among the first four in the EU. In the first half of 2015the value of the foreign investments in Croatia has reached 498 million euro.Our export in the first half of 2015 has been increased by 12 percent and hasreached 6 billion euro. The import has increased as well – by 6.3 percent andit reached 9.1 billion euro. There are very clear signs of recovery of Croatianeconomy.
Iam sure that the participation of Croatia in a New Silk Road Initiative wouldbenefit the people and countries included in it, such as – building port andsea connectivity, building rail, road and air connectivity and tourism.
Weare looking forward to see more Chinese investment in Europe, which is thenumber one destination for foreign investment. The European Commission has putinvestment at the very heart of its agenda. The Commission has launched theInvestment Plan for Europe aiming at delivering 315 billion euro in extrainvestment within Europe. China has applied to become a member of the EuropeanBank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) as a new way of boosting tradelinks with Europe and Asia. EU member states welcome that, just as they welcomethe fact that many European countries have applied to become founding membersof the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), in order to complementexisting multilateral development banks and to contribute to addressing theneed in Asia for infrastructure investment.
European and Chinese leaders have decided tosupport synergies between each other’s flagship initiatives. Improvingconnectivity, both within and beyond the borders of the EU is not just one ofthe most important political goals of the European Union but it is alsoembedded in its very heart of existence and promoted values.It is good to knowthat China is also interested in taking part in this joint process. China andEU have already agreed on the main principles how we want this cooperation tomove forward. And now we are discussing how it is going to be implemented inthe real life projects that will bring prosperity throughout the One Belt, OneRoad territories.
Croatiais a good example how this connectivity can work. Although our infrastructureis relatively well developed – we built 650 km of highest quality highways inpast 10 years that put us on the first place in Europe in terms of kilometresof highways per capita – we need moreinvestment to upgrade port infrastructure, in the modernisation of the railwaysystem, in the energy sector and in tourism.
Forexample, at the last year’s meeting in Warsaw the Chinese side has proposed toestablish the China-Europe Land-Sea Express Line to improve connectivity amongregions along the Silk Road. Part of the proposal is the seaport corridor toconnect ports on the Adriatic Sea with ports on the Baltic Sea. The biggestCroatian port Rijeka has been explicitly mentioned, so Croatian authoritiesinvited foreign investors to explore possibilities in investing in themodernisation and the management of the Port of Rijeka.
Sincemost of those projects are relatively big, both in terms of its importance forthe broader region and in its estimated value, we will need to rely ondifferent sources of investment for their financing. In that respect, we willnot limit our options just toward one investment source; we will need todiversify among EU funds, institutional and private investors, public andprivate partners from different parts of the world.
Wewould like to note with great interest that regarding financial requirements,the Chinese side has shown the willingness to adjust to the individual needs ofthe projects, taking in the consideration all the circumstances of the case,both the value of the project and its model or method of financing.
Atthe heart of One Belt, One Road lies the creation of an economic land belt thatincludes countries on the original Silk Road through Central Asia, West Asia,the Middle East and Europe, as well as a maritime road that links China’s portfacilities with the African coast, pushing up through the Suez Canal into theMediterranean.
China’sresponse to this changing growth dynamic is partly external and partlyinternal. On the external side, it is no coincidence that this period of excesscapacity at home is the moment at which China launched expensive newinitiatives, such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the BRICSBank, and the ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative in order to strengtheninfrastructure both on the westward land route from China through Central Asiaand on the southerly maritime routes from China through Southeast Asia and onto South Asia, Africa, and Europe.
TheOne Belt One Road Initiative is a good opportunity to strengthen cooperationwith the other countries covered by this initiative and to strengthen good relationsbetween Republic of Croatia and People´s Republic of China, especially ineconomic terms. I expect further strengthening of economic relations andintensifying cooperation between our countries especially in tourism.
Peopleto people exchange is numerous and goes both ways; in 2014 – around 150 000Chinese tourists have visited Croatia – there has been a 50 percent increasecompared to 2013 – and Croatians travel and learn more about China.
Cooperationin tourism is extremely important – it contributes to economic and tradeexchanges between the two countries and deepening of the friendship between theChinese and Croatian people. I believe that One Belt One Road Initiative couldhelp tourists from all countries participating in the Initiative andparticularly those from China, to recognize Croatia as one of the leadingtourist destinations in Mediterranean.
Citiesand local governments in China and Croatia are cooperating and becoming partnercities – like Split and Hangzhou – and last year we celebrated 35 years ofpartnership between Zagreb and Shanghai.
Croatiais blessed by the excellent geostrategic position in the heart of Europe thatwe need to exploit and take benefit from even more. Still, we are living in turbulent anduncertain times, signed by unstable recovery and weak trends of growth. Theseare the obstacles we need to prepare for and hopefully avoid.
Asancient Chinese wisdom teaches us, crisis means also opportunity so we need topromote our comparative and competitive advantages by taking advantages of therenewed interest shown by People’s Republic of China, politically andeconomically, for the Central and Eastern Europe.
Thisinterest spreads on different areas of the society. It brings us closer together,it helps us understand each other better.
Peoplefrom the academia, journalists, tourist experts, young people…have strengthentheir mutual relations and are finding new forms of cooperation and theinteraction is stronger and faster than ever.
Thosedevelopments will have synergy and incremental effects on our cooperation whichwill enhance our mutual understanding and friendship between our people.
The Silk Roadconnected us centuries ago, through different initiatives has been revived in ourtimes and in the future it will regain its crucial significance as it willenable 21st century connectivity to fully flourish and show itspotential. We all witness and contribute to this.
In my opinion, to achieve the best results, weshould work together and find appropriate answers and solutions in thefollowing three main areas:-criteria of selection, compatibility and financingof various projects;-enhance the level of coordination among differentfinancial institutions in charge of approving and managingprojects;-harmonizing rules and regulations among various countries to allowfree movement of goods, services, capital flows and people.
If progress willbe made in those sensitive and complicated areas, win-win cooperation among ourcountries will reach the new stage of common understanding and prosperity.