Chinese brands do not fear the query

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has arrived in Zagreb, capital of Croatia, and started his official visit to deepen cooperation between the two countries.

The initial economic partnership between China and Croatia dates back to 1993, when China signed Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) with Croatia, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

In 2019, Chinese contractors led by the China Road and Bridge Corporation have won a bid for the EU-funded Croatian Peljesac bridge in January, the biggest project between China and Croatia since the diplomatic relationship was established 27 years ago.

Competing with international rivals, China managed to construct the first phase of the bridge and access roads with 280 million euros, cheaper than the nearest competitor by over 88 million euros.

However, some skepticism appeared when the Chinese company won the tender. Some accused the Chinese company of not employing as many locals or paying its own workers low wages. Liu Baocheng, a professor at the Beijing University of International Business and Economics, said the accusations are actually good for China as it gives the country an opportunity to show the world that it is not playing games in the competition.

“The other thing is how SOEs are positioned in global competition. This has been watched before and really considered to be a black spot on China and Chinese economic performance,” Liu said. But China can very well clarify the global market position of the Chinese state-owned companies (SOEs).

Chinese brands, especially the SOEs brands, can stand further on the international platform if China goes through this exam, he concluded.

(CGTN)