By Lily Wang

On April 29， the Fo- rum on Investment Opportunities in Poland， one part of 13th China Overseas Investment Fair， was held in Beijing， Shanghai and Warsaw through online and offline channels.

Focus on high-tech and green industries

Wojciech Zajaczkowski， Ambassador of Poland to China， said in his speech that Poland ranks first among Middle and Eastern Europe countries in terms of competitiveness. It has special advantages in the manufacturing sector. Leaders of both Poland and China have attached great importance to bilateral trade and Poland is expecting to exercise full-scale cooperation with China in trade and investment. Poland hopes to receive more investment from China， especially in the high-tech and green industries.

He Zhenwei， Secretary-General of the China Overseas Development Association， said that China is Polands largest import market and source of agricultural product import. Poland has provided strong support to facilitate the entry of Chinas products into Poland， and other Middle and Eastern European countries. This reflects the close trade and economic relationship between China and Poland， and highlights that the two economies are highly complementary， and investment cooperation has huge potential.

At the forum， experts from the Polish Investment and Trade Agency made introductions about Polands trade policy， investment market， business environment and related projects. Andrzej Juchniewicz， key representative of the Polish Investment and Trade Agency in China， said that the global Covid-19 pandemic is still severe， but Poland has excellent per- formance when it comes to attracting foreign investment. During the first quarter of this year， Poland ranked third in the world in terms of inbound investment， following only the U.S. and Spain. Andrzej Juchniewicz said that the Polish Investment and Trade Agency provides policy consulting and investment site inspection services for investors， to facilitate investment in Poland. He also said that Poland has low labor costs and high labor qualities， and that it has special advantages in the auto industry.

Largest exporter of electric vehicle batteries in Europe

Traditionally， capital flowing into Poland mainly came from Europe and the U.S. In recent years， more and more Asian companies have decided to invest in Poland， and this trend is closely related to the rise of the Polish electric vehicle sector.

As the largest exporter of electric vehicle batteries in Europe， Poland is home to the factory of LG Chem， and it has many facilities that are key to battery production， including SK Innovation， Northvolt， Umicore and Foosung. Poland is the hub of European electric-powered transportation.

“During the four years of operating in the electric vehicle business in Poland， LG Chem has established Eu- ropes first and largest electric vehicle battery center， which attracted huge investment and high-tech technologies. Poland has become the leader of the electric vehicle industry，” said a spokesperson of LG Chem Wrocaw Energy.

The lithium ion battery， electric motor and other electric driving components made in Poland can now be found in electric vehicles produced in Europe， including Volkswagen， BMW， Audi and Porsche. Poland becoming an electric vehicle hub is not a miracle， but a natural change.

The forum also invited Zheng Qiang， General Manager of the 6th chassis system Department of Ningbo Tuopo Group Co.， Ltd. （Automotive Industry） and Yao Jian， General Manager of the Ningbo branch of Ningbo Haoya Group. They shared their experience investing in the auto industry and participating in cross-border e-commerce in Poland. They also mentioned that their investment has received great support from both the Chinese and the Polish government. Poland is connected with Europe and has evident geographical advantages as well as a good industrial foundation.

He Zhenwei pointed out that the pandemic will eventually pass， and Chinese enterprises will continue to“go out” for investment cooperation， including investing or doing business in Poland. The purpose of this forum is to deliver first-hand information to Chinese enterprises， create more investment opportunities， and guide Chinese enterprises to understand and enter the Polish market through multiple channels for mutual benefit and win-win results. Entrepreneurs from both sides should carry out economic， trade and investment cooperation in more fields and in a wider scope， so as to truly benefit the people of both countries.