Belt, Road will create development hub

What do you think about China’s development during the past five years?

If you look at Chinese development over the past five years, what stands out is the active leadership of Xi Jinping (general secretary of the CPC Central Committee). This is important because the world needs stability. We have many dangerous areas, too many dangerous processes, and cooperation is a highvalue aspect of our relations.

If we look at the Chinese situation, Xi has created a better balance between development, social evolution and the economy. The Belt and Road Initiative is a huge project, especially when we discuss relations around the world, the cooperation between China and the European Union and Russia. It has created a strong area for development.

“IF WE LOOK AT THE CHINESE SITUATION, XI (JINPING) HAS CREATED A BETTER BALANCE BETWEEN DEVELOPMENT, SOCIAL EVOLUTION AND THE ECONOMY.”

What do you think of Party governance?

China has set an excellent example for the world. When I read Xi’s book, The Governance of China, it was interesting because many elements are dedicated to governance of Chinese institutions and the nation’s economy. An interesting chapter is about the Chinese Dream. It is a concept, not an individual dream like in the United States. In China, Xi’s dream is to create a good position for the Chinese nation in the world. It’s a common dream. How are China and Poland cooperating under the Belt and Road framework?

More than 10 years ago, when I was in government, we prepared a concept and offered it to China for cooperation based not only on Waldemar Pawlak, former prime minister of Poland relations between Poland and China, but also showed Poland from a regional point of view. We are in the center of Europe, and now, when we look at this area, we have 10 new members of the European Union. Even when Xi visited Poland (as vice-president in 2010), this concept was evaluated and developed. And now, the 16+1 platform between China and Central and Eastern Europe is going well. So the Belt and Road Initiative not only integrates one country, but all countries of relatively similar interests. It’s a good basis for developing cooperation between Poland and China. So Poland has played a vital role under the 16+1 framework?

Poland is a key country in Central and Eastern Europe, and China recognizes that importance. We have three of the biggest Chinese banks — Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Construction Bank of China. These are good examples of cooperation between the Chinese financial sector and Polish companies. We also have foreign companies in Poland that have good relations with these Chinese partners. What are Poland’s development priorities in terms of becoming a regional hub?

We have similar experiences to China because we started a deep change of our economic system at the same time, though we have progressed in different ways. We also based our approach on the concept of a special economic zone to invite foreign investors.

In Poland, we concentrate on the development of our country to create better labor and social conditions for our employees. Our president and our government strongly support cooperation with China. Also, we are keen to create a railway, aviation and commercial hub in central Poland. Our government is looking for Chinese partners to participate in this huge investment project, which will be worth more than $10 billion.