Riga Declaration

On 5 November 2016, the fifth Summit of China and Central and Eastern European Countries (hereinafter referred to as "CEEC") was held in Riga Latvia.

Leaders attending the meeting (hereinafter referred to as "the Leaders") reaffirmed their support for the cooperation initiative involving the ports at the Adriatic, Baltic and Black Sea and along the inland waterways (hereinafter referred to as "Adriatic-Baltic-Black Sea Seaport Cooperation"), which was put forward by Premier Li Keqiang of the People's Republic of China during the 4th China-CEEC Summit in November 2015;

The leaders declare that the focus of Adriatic-Baltic-Black Sea Seaport Cooperation is developing transportation hubs involving ports and industrial parks in the coastal areas of the Adriatic, Baltic and Black Sea and along the inland waterways, working together to build industrial clusters in ports and establishing modern road, rail and river corridors to connect them. Cooperation in other fields can be addressed preceded by necessary consultations.

The leaders believe that Adriatic-Baltic-Black Sea Seaport Cooperation would serve the development needs of all 17 countries, and would thereby contribute to closer EU-China relations, by synergizing their specific demands and advantages for infrastructure development and industrial upgrading, in particular construction of ports, roads, railways and inland navigation routes, with a view to facilitating economic growth of each country and across the region;

The leaders point out that Adriatic-Baltic-Black Sea Seaport Cooperation would help widen the scope of China-CEEC practical cooperation, promote sustainable development in the long run, and contribute to greater synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative, development strategies of CEECs and the EU's Trans-European Transport Network.

The Countries are ready to jointly advance Adriatic-Baltic-Black Sea Seaport Cooperation, under the principle of drawing upon each other's strengths, win-win cooperation and common development, in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, business and market principles, and the interests of China and CEECs .

All participating EU Member States reaffirm that the implementation of the actions envisaged by this document must be done without prejudice to the competencies of the European Union and with respect for the obligations stemming from their membership of the European Union.

On the basis of equal-footed consultation, the leaders: 1. Wish to strengthen Adriatic-Baltic-Black Sea Seaport Cooperation, in line with geographical distribution of ports and their future development needs, by better using, developing and upgrading ports, supporting cooperation in ports investments, expanding handling capacity of ports and extending shipping route network of the three seas and inland waterways and ports.

2.Support development of industrial clusters in ports, strengthen cooperation in inland industrial parks as well as between sea and inland ports, advance the development, construction and operation of industrial parks, create a favorable investment environment and ensure its openness and transparency, expand cooperation in project investments, encourage enterprise cooperation in equipment and manufacturing industries and cooperate in facilitation of container cargo flows between China and Europe.

3.Encourage cooperation in infrastructure development, such as construction of railways and roads, logistics and warehousing at sea and inland ports and industrial parks, support acceleration of development of transportation corridors, facilitate movement of goods, so as to create favorable conditions for the development of ports and industrial parks, including new inland waterway and rail corridors.

4.Reiterate their strong commitment to observe and implement environment-friendly regulations when carrying out their cooperation in all investment projects.

5.Encourage closer cooperation in financing, make full use of existing financing instruments and create new ones through innovative means of investment and financing, if necessary, in order to provide financial support for projects linked to ports, roads, railways and logistical hubs under Adriatic-Baltic-Black Sea Seaport Cooperation.

6.Declare to give full play to the role of China-CEEC Summit and other bilateral and multilateral mechanisms, step up coordination among governments, establish and improve cooperation mechanisms, and build communication and consultation platforms, to create favorable environment and conditions for Adriatic-Baltic-Black Sea Seaport Cooperation.

7.Welcome other European states and businesses to participate in Adriatic-Baltic-Black Sea Seaport Cooperation with a view to effectively synergizing China-CEEC cooperation and China-EU cooperation, including by actively supporting private sector's participation, and by promoting transparent and accountable procedures during the implementation of their cooperation projects.