Chinese premier arrives in Bucharest for visit, summit with CEE leaders



Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrived in Bucharest Monday for an official visit to Romania and a summit with leaders of Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries.

During the visit, Li will hold talks with Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta, and meet Romanian President Traian Basescu, President of the Senate Crin Antonescu and President of the Chamber of Deputies Valeriu Zgonea. He will also deliver a speech at the Romanian parliament.

Li will visit a Chinese enterprise based in Romania and make extensive contacts with people of all walks of life so as to promote China-Romania relations and bilateral cooperation.

It is the first visit by a Chinese premier to Romania in 19 years and also Li's maiden trip to Central and Eastern Europe since he took office in March.

He will also attend the China-CEE leaders' meeting in Bucharest.

At the airport, Romanian youths presented bread and salt to the Chinese premier according to local traditions of greeting distinguished guests.

National anthems of both countries were played at the welcome ceremony presided over by Prime Minister Ponta, and Li inspected the Romanian guard of honor together with Ponta.

It is the first time that Romania staged a welcome ceremony at the airport for a foreign guest in 20 years.

Li will also carry out a string of multilateral and bilateral activities with his counterparts from 16 CEE countries, including a round-table leaders' meeting and a trade forum.

He will address the opening ceremony of the Third China-CEE Economic and Trade Forum.

China and Romania have conducted multi-faceted cooperation. Two-way trade reached 3.27 billion US dollars during the first 10 months this year, in comparison with less than 300 million dollars for the annual total of 2000. China's current total investment in Romania tops 160 million dollars.




Trade between China and the 16 CEE countries amounted to 45.4 billion dollars during the first 10 months this year. Currently, Chinese companies' investment in CEE countries has exceeded 3.5 billion dollars, and investment in the opposite direction has topped 1.1 billion dollars.

The 16 CEE countries are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia.

After visiting Romania, Li will travel to the Uzbek capital of Tashkent for the 12th prime ministers' meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. 







surce: Global times
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/827567.shtml#.UpYnWyc3SkU

Li Keqiang


Li Keqiang is endorsed as the premier of China's State Council at the fifth plenary meeting of the first session of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 15, 2013. (Xinhua)
Li Keqiang is endorsed as the premier of China's State Council at the fifth plenary meeting of the first session of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 15, 2013. (Xinhua)
Li Keqiang, born in July 1955, is a male ethnic Han from Dingyuan, Anhui Province. He entered the workforce in March 1974 and joined the Communist Party of China (CPC) in May 1976. He graduated from the School of Economics at Peking University with a major in economics, has an in-service postgraduate education and holds the degree of Doctor of Economics.

He is currently a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, premier of the State Council and secretary of its Leading Party Members' Group.

1974-1976 Educated youth, Dongling Brigade, Damiao Commune, Fengyang County, Anhui Province

1976-1978 Secretary, Party Branch, Damiao Brigade, Damiao Commune, Fengyang County, Anhui Province

1978-1982 Student, Department of Law; and leader, Students' Union of Peking University

1982-1983 Secretary, Committee of the Communist Youth League (CYL), Peking University; member, Standing Committee, CYL Central Committee

1983-1983 Director, School Department, CYL Central Committee; secretary-general, All-China Students' Federation

1983-1985 alternate member, Secretariat, CYL Central Committee

1985-1993 Member, Secretariat, CYL Central Committee; vice chairman, All-China Youth Federation (September - November 1991: student of a further studies course for provincial and ministerial level officials at Central Party School)

1993-1998 First member, Secretariat, CYL Central Committee; president, China Youth University for Political Sciences (1988-1994: studied economics in an in-service postgraduate program at the School of Economics at Peking University, and awarded the degrees of Master of Economics and Doctor of Economics)

1998-1999 Deputy secretary, CPC Henan Provincial Committee; acting governor, Henan Province; and concurrently director, Yellow River Flood Control Headquarters

1999-2002 Deputy secretary, CPC Henan Provincial Committee; governor, Henan Province; and concurrently director, Yellow River Flood Control Headquarters

2002-2003 Secretary, CPC Henan Provincial Committee; governor, Henan Province; and concurrently director, Yellow River Flood Control Headquarters

2003-2004 Secretary, CPC Henan Provincial Committee; chairman, Standing Committee, Henan Provincial People's Congress

2004-2005 Secretary, CPC Liaoning Provincial Committee

2005-2007 Secretary, CPC Liaoning Provincial Committee; chairman, Standing Committee, Liaoning Provincial People's Congress

2007-2008 Member, Standing Committee, Political Bureau, CPC Central Committee

2008-2013 Member, Standing Committee, Political Bureau, CPC Central Committee; vice premier of the State Council and deputy secretary of its Leading Party Members' Group; director of Three Gorges Project Construction Committee and of South-to-North Water Diversion Construction Project Committee; head of the leading group of deepening the reform of medical and health care system, State Council

2013- Member, Standing Committee, Political Bureau, CPC Central Committee; premier of the State Council and secretary of its Leading Party Members' Group; director of Three Gorges Project Construction Committee and of South-to-North Water Diversion Construction Project Committee; head of the leading group of deepening the reform of medical and health care system, State Council

Member, Fifteenth through Eighteenth CPC Central Committees; member, Political Bureau and its Standing Committee, Seventeenth and Eighteenth CPC Central Committees; member, Standing Committee, Eighth NPC.

Updated on March 15, 2013