In the current geopolitical context it is necessary to identify new export markets, Premier Victor Ponta stated at the start of the government meeting, following his official visit to Beijing.
Romania and China are implementing energy and infrastructure projects worth EUR 6 bln. In the current geopolitical context in which the Romanian state is supporting the economic sanctions imposed on Russia, it is necessary to identify new export markets, Premier Victor Ponta stated yesterday at the start of the government meeting. Premier Ponta paid an official visit to China from August 30 to September 3, at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang, in response to the visit the latter paid to Romania in November 2013.
“The projects (…) mean jobs, mean energy independence for Romania and mean the possibility of adding to what we are receiving from European funds and budget funds for the improvement of infrastructure. The United States of America and the European Union have a strategic partnership with China. If we manage to have investments, to create jobs, to be energy independent, it’s an important thing and I would like for our economic relations with other countries outside the European Union to equally help us in our economic development, the more so since Romania supports and believes new economic sanctions are necessary against the Russian Federation for its violation of international law and its involvement in the crisis in eastern Ukraine,” Ponta told the ministers on Thursday.
The government has discussed with several Chinese companies the possibility of building a high-speed railway from Bucharest to Iasi, one that could then extend all the way to Chisinau, considering that the European Commission opposes a high-speed railway from Bucharest to Constanta.
On Tuesday Ponta wanted to personally see the performance of high-speed trains in China and traveled, alongside Transport Minister Ioan Rus, from Beijing to Tianjin on such a train.
According to a PwC and Oxford Economics report, Romania’s expenditures on infrastructure will grow by an average of 5 per cent per year until 2025, faster than the growth levels in Western Europe, but slower than the ones at global level, the total sum earmarked set to reach approximately USD 30 bln in 11 years.
