— An Exclusive Interview with Mr. Sorin Dimitriu， President of Bucharest Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Mr. Sorin Dimitriu， Presi- dent of Bucharest Chamber of Commerce and Industry， is an old friend of China. This August， he visited Beijing for the Romanian-Chinese Business Forum， along with 35 Romanian enterprises as a large business delegation accompanying Romanian Prime Minister Mr. Emil Boc’s visit to China. Less than one month later， he was in Beijing again for the 2011 Beijing International Conference of Friendly Chambers of Commerce in September. In his career life， he has made great efforts to the promotion of Romanian-Chinese business. On the bilateral trade and investment of between Romania and China， China’s Foreign Trade took an exclusive interview with Mr. Sorin Dimitriu.

Q: You have been to China many times. When was your first visit to China? How was the RomaniaChina business at that time? What changes have taken place in bilateral cooperation during all these years in your eyes?

A: Romania and China have always had a privileged relationship， even during difficult international contexts and different challenges coming along.

In my quality of Minister under five successive governments， I have dedicated a part of my activity towards the strengthening of the RomanianChinese bilateral dialogue and economic relations.

My first visit was in 1997. As Minister of Privatization， I was accompanying Mr. Emil Constantinescu， President of Romania at that time， in his official visit. During our stay in China we participated at different business forums， obtaining financing for some very important Romanian projects， among which 800 billion USD for the metallurgical field (Galati and Hunedoara steel complexes) and 200 billion USD for the energetic field. With the same occasion， discussions regarding a potential governmental loan from China to Romania were being opened for the first time.

In those years， the relationship between the two business environments was not supported by an important number of contracts. However， companies that are now members of the Bucharest Chamber had been contracting and operating projects like the mining plant in Bailong， a refrigerators plant in Changshu or the Pucheng powerstation.

Thinking of my last visit in 2011， the results we achieved were definitely the outcome of the numerous reforms and changes China has passed through. The same improvement has been noticed during the visits to different plants or the companies’ headquarters， not to mention the constant growth shown by the Romanian-Chinese bilateral commercial relationship in the past years.

For sure trade is much freer now and the Romanian side is making efforts， not only to strengthen it but also to balance the current deficit. As a consequence of the measures taken at the national level - to promote the idea of reviving the traditional non-EU markets， our exports have increased with 28% last year and in fact have doubled in the last few years.

Since consolidating the Romanian-Chinese relationship and increasing the level of coordination in the international and global arena definitely meets the fundamental interests of both parties， Bucharest Chamber of Commerce and Industry has organized in the past three years four trade missions to China and the fifth is being prepared for October this year. Moreover， in order to further support the increasing trends of the bilateral economic relations， Bucharest Chamber will be opening in the first half of 2012 a representative office in Beijing. The role of this office will be to promote the Romanian offer， ensure the success of the Romanian initiatives of accessing the Chinese market as well as to offer competent assistance to potential Chinese investors.

Q: While you push forward Romanian-Chinese trade and business exchange， what difficulties have you met? What do you think

causes the problems? In which way they would improve?

A: Just like in any other business， especially the ones involving different cultures， there are more aspects to be considered than usual. Language is just a small part of the story. Different experiences may lead to different expectations， thus to disappointments regarding the process of finding a partner and the further development of the partnership. However， as a representative organization of the business environment， we did not encounter problems that didn’t have an immediate solution. We deal with the bilateral trade as a whole and strive to promote it properly. In the same time， we want to outline the excellent collaboration we have been having with the Chinese Embassy in Romania and our partners in China. With their help we have addressed all the inquiries and issues with which the Romanian companies have come to us.

Although we could list all of this， we would prefer keeping it like that. Without being too optimist， we would like to reassure the interested parties that whatever issues might come， a solution can be found.

Q: It is released that several projects signed between Romania and China during Prime Minister Mr. Emil Boc’s visit to China in August. What are they? Which industries do you think will be highlighted in the future bilateral cooperation and investment?

A: As the Romanian prime-minister mentioned during his intervention in Beijing， the projects refer to the construction of reactors 3 and 4 at Cernavoda power station， TarnitaLapustesti power-plant， the DanubeBucharest and Siret-Baragan Canals as well as the Bucharest’s highway belt.

Besides these governmental projects， the Chamber has independently initiated some others. Thus， under the coordination of Bucharest Chamber， a consortium of Chinese companies will be starting a series of private projects with Romanian partners， projects whose value will go over 1 billion USD. In addition， we are currently negotiat- ing the opening of a representative office of China Development Bank in Bucharest， expected to cover not only Romania but the entire South-East European region.

As for the domains most likely to rank high on the bilateral trade chart， we are expecting， based on the traditional political and economical relationship， an increase of the activity in fields of activity such as automotive， electronic components and IT， construction and energetic equipment.

Q: How do Chinese companies perform in Romania? Any example to share with us? For those Chinese enterprises who want to invest in Romania or do business with Romanian peers in future， what suggestions will you give?

A: The Bucharest Chamber counts among its members Chinese companies with which we closely and successfully collaborate. One of the main ones is Rich Sports， a Chinese company who became the biggest distributor of motorcycles and ATVs in Romania.

For the Chinese enterprises who want to invest in Romania， I would like to outline the fact that Bucharest Chamber， as representative and promoter of the interests of the business community in the Romanian Capital– is a natural partner for them and an efficient access way in the Romanian market. Throughout the life of a company， the Bucharest Chamber is there for the potential investors， supplying expert services and consulting.

As for the request from the Chi- nese companies for government guarantees for their investment， my advice would be to consider the local authorities as well as the national ones since their projects are also state guaranteed.

Q: China is Romania’s fifth largest import partner in 2010. How can Romania’s manufacturing benefit more from the growing consumer market in China?

A: We consider China as a strategic partner for Romania， offering viable market opportunities for a wide range of companies. Our foreign relations strategy puts a great emphasis on the markets outside the European Union’s borders and the numerous trade missions and business forums we have been organizing since the fall of 2008 stand behind it.

As a matter of fact， after I have taken over the management of the Bucharest Chamber， the first meeting we had with the diplomatic bodies was with the head of the Commercial office activating within the Chinese Embassy in Romania.

In order to balance the trade deficit， we are currently making efforts to increase the presence on the Chinese market of Romanian producers of furniture and wine. In the Chambers’delegation visiting China this August three wine producers were present， among which Murfatlar and Vin Export， companies whose total exports to China are now accounting 4 million Euros and Cramele Vanju Mare， which signed， during the business forum organized in Beijing on August 15th， its first contract with a Chinese partner.

Profile of Bucharest Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Set-up in 1868， the Bucharest Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Bucharest CCI) is a self-sufficient， non-governmental， nonpolitical， non-profit， public-service organisation without a patrimonial purpose， a legal person in its own right whose aim is to represent， defend and promote the interests of its members and the other economic actors of Bucharest， for the development of trade， industry， agriculture and services in line with the market economy requirements. The Bucharest CCI members operate within five sections， i.e.: Services， Industry， Trade， Tourism， and Collective Members.