China is ready to make concerted efforts with Poland to strengthen economic and trade cooperation, China's Vice Minister of Commerce Zhang Zhigang said in Beijing Monday.  

At the 11th meeting of Sino-Polish mixed committee on commerce and trade, Zhang said that economic and trade cooperation between China and Poland has seen sound progress in recent years and Poland has become China's second largest trade partner in Central and Eastern Europe.

Statistics indicated trade volume between China and Poland reached US$1.98 billion in 2003, an increase of 43.1 percent year-on-year, the highest record in history.

Miroslaw F. Zielinski, vice minister of Economy, Labor and Social Policy of Poland, expressed satisfaction with the bilateral cooperation in economy and trade. He said he believed the economic and trade ties will be further promoted with the close cooperation between governmental departments and enterprises.

The two sides agreed to encourage their enterprises to strengthen exchanges and expand investment, and to hold the 12th meeting of the committee in the Polish capital Warsaw in 2005.

(Xinhua News Agency March 16, 2004)