China signed an MoU with Romania on the Belt and Road Initiative in 2015. What are the major projects China and Romania have launched since then?

It was in June 2015 that high-level officials in Romania and China signed an MoU between the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Tourism of Romania and the Ministry of Commerce of China, concerning the promotion of cooperation within the framework of the Romania-China Joint Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation for the joint development of the Silk Road Economic Belt. It was among the very first documents related to the Chinese initiative that were concluded between an EU member state and China.

Such bilateral documents are a welcome catalyst for enhancing bilateral trade and investment ties. Since 2015, Romania’s exports to China have increased by 17.31 percent, accounting for $682 million, and the total level of Chinese investment in our country has reached $468 million, with more investments being made through the Europe-based SPVs (special purpose vehicles) in various sectors such as agriculture, the automotive industry and green energy. Smithfield, Nidera and Pirelli are some of the major investments.

Trade numbers are set to grow exponentially in future years, for example with Romanian agricultural and food products such as pork increasingly available in the Chinese market.

In addition, Romania and China are in advanced negotiations for two major projects in the field of energy: Units 3 and 4 of the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant and the Rovinari Coal Power Plant, with total investment in these two projects exceeding an estimated $7 billion. Beyond such major investment projects, which due to their complex nature would take time to come to fruition, we are witnessing numerous small and medium-sized Chinese investments in Romania, which are a particularly interesting result of fruitful cooperation, especially at a local level.

The Belt and Road Initiative has inspired

The Romanian Government supported the opening of the Constanta (Romania)Batumi (Georgia) ferry connection, which had its maiden voyage in October 2014.

This connection could be further synergized with transport corridors crossing the Caucasus region and beyond over the Caspian Sea to Central Asia and as far as China.