Croatian Prime Minister Plenkovi Meets with Wang Yi

On October 17, 2026 local time, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovi met with Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Zagreb. Wang Yi conveyed the good wishes of Chinese leaders to Plenkovi and welcomed him to visit China at a mutually convenient time. Wang Yi said that China is one of the first major countries to establish diplomatic relations with Croatia. Under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, bilateral relations have maintained sound, steady and sustainable development. The two sides treat each other with sincerity on the basis of mutual respect and have established a mature and long-term comprehensive cooperative partnership. This is the right choice made by both sides, and China is ready to further elevate the positioning of bilateral relations on this basis. Wang Yi said that this visit is aimed at conveying several messages to the Croatian side: First, China values its traditional friendship with Croatia and is ready to turn it into an important driving force for the development of bilateral relations in the new era. Second, China respects the choice of the Croatian people and Croatia's national governance model, and is ready to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation with Croatia to help each other's development and revitalization. Third, China attaches importance to China-Croatia people-to-people and cultural exchanges and has taken measures such as unilateral visa exemption and the opening of direct flights to promote personnel exchanges and mutual understanding between the two peoples. Fourth, China firmly believes that China and Europe are partners, not rivals. China supports the European integration process, supports Croatia in achieving faster development in this process, and supports Croatia in playing a constructive role in deepening China-Europe cooperation. Wang Yi said that China and Central and Eastern European countries have a real need to strengthen exchanges and advance cooperation. Their cooperation is completely open and transparent and also helps advance the European integration process. China is ready to strengthen cooperation in various fields within the mechanism with regional countries that are willing to do so. China appreciates Croatia's positive attitude toward this and is ready to take the opportunity of the 15th anniversary of the mechanism next year to revitalize China-CEEC mutually beneficial cooperation. The two sides exchanged views on China-Europe economic and trade relations. Plenkovi said that EU countries, including Croatia, have concerns about trade imbalances. At the just-concluded EU summit, all parties spoke positively of the consensus reached through the China-Europe trade and investment consultation mechanism and expressed the hope that the two sides will continue to strengthen communication and dialogue to properly handle differences. Wang Yi said that the China-Europe trade issue is caused by the international division of labor and market demand. The EU's imports of high-quality and affordable goods from China benefit the EU public, curb inflation, and reflect the objective demand of the European market. There is no so-called "overcapacity" issue. China is ready to import more high-value-added European products and hopes that the European side will relax export restrictions on China. China is ready to push economic and trade relations toward an upward rather than downward balance, toward forward development rather than backward regression, and to make the pie bigger rather than smaller. China is ready to strengthen dialogue with the European side in the spirit of equality and mutual benefit, jointly hold high the banner of safeguarding free trade, and advance open and inclusive economic globalization.