Minister Matjaž Han visited Shanghai, where he attended one of the biggest import expos in the world – the China International Import Expo (CIIE) – featuring a joint pavilion showcasing Slovenian businesses, including top hi-tech companies with their ground-breaking solutions. He participated in the opening of the Slovenian pavilion and met with exhibitors and major foreign partners.

On this occasion, Minister Han said that the political and business visit was only one of the activities carried out by the Ministry in cooperation with the SPIRIT Slovenia agency to support the internationalisation of the Slovenian economy: "China is our biggest trade partner in Asia. It is also an important player on the global market. As a small, export-oriented economy, Slovenia must devote particular attention to diversifying its exports outside the EU and focus on markets where it can leverage its competitive advantages. With this end in view, the State is striving to open doors for Slovenian businesses to break into foreign markets. With regard to China in particular, we want to deepen the involvement of Slovenian companies in Chinese value chains and attract new investments in Slovenia from the most innovative Chinese companies," said Han, adding that the main purpose of such events and visits was building bridges between the two countries.

Minister Han met with Vice Minister of Commerce and Deputy China International Trade Representative Ling Ji, touching on the possibility of strengthening cooperation. They agreed that cooperation between the two countries was good and that they considered each other important partners. Minister Han presented the country’s development investments in the Slovenian economy, particularly in R&D and productivity, which help boost the competitiveness and exports of Slovenian businesses. He highlighted the restructuring of the Slovenian automotive industry into green electric mobility, which the Government intends to support with 200 million in investments by 2027. He also called attention to the Slovenian pharmaceutical industry that focuses on the development of advanced biotechnological solutions and the sustainable use of resources. Slovenia also strives to stimulate further investments in assets and to balance mutual investments, which are one of the key elements of economic cooperation. Minister Han highlighted Slovenia’s excellent geostrategic location, specifically the Port of Koper, allowing Chinese companies to reach the 500 million people in the European market in the most economical way possible. He also called attention to tourism and Slovenia’s advantages for Chinese guests, whose number Slovenia would like to increase to pre-pandemic levels.

Vice Minister Ling Ji highlighted good relations between the two countries and many excellent ongoing projects in both China and Slovenia. According to him, there is great potential for investors on both sides. He stressed that China was very appreciative of Slovenia’s attitude to customs on the imports of electric vehicles from China, as it signifies that Slovenia is in favour of free international trade. In the automotive industry, he sees ample opportunities for bilateral cooperation. China is aware that the automotive industry has a long tradition in the Slovenian economy. The pharmaceutical industry is another area showing strong potential for cooperation.

The two agreed to continue the joint search for opportunities for potential investors and strengthening economic cooperation. Minister Han invited Vice Minister Ling Ji to attend Suppliers’ Days, to be held next March, while Vice Minister Ling Ji extended an invitation to a joint commission meeting next year in China.

Business and investment conference aimed at finding new opportunities for cooperation

The main purpose of a business and investment conference held by the Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport, SPIRIT Slovenia, the Slovenian Embassy in Beijing and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia was the presentation of the Slovenian business environment with opportunities for strengthening cooperation with and investment in Slovenia. The conference focused on two pillars – the automotive and pharmaceutical industries. Chinese partners were given a presentation of the Slovenian automotive environment and the Biotech Hills initiative aimed at making Slovenia the most attractive destination in Europe for research and development, manufacturing and investments in start-ups and small, medium and large biotech and pharmaceutical enterprises. The presentation also featured two examples of good practice with regard to Chinese investments in Slovenia, namely Hisense and Porton. The conference was an excellent opportunity for networking with potential Chinese partners, including targeted B2B meetings.

Addressing more than 150 conference participants, Minister Han stressed that "today's event is an excellent opportunity to network with Chinese companies that are leading the way in innovation and advanced technologies." He added, "this cooperation can lead to the creation of new synergies that will help accelerate the transformation of the automotive and pharmaceutical industries and open new doors for research, innovation and joint projects."

On the sidelines of the conference, the Minister met with Zhou Minhao, President of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT). He held talks with representatives of the Chinese companies Porton, Hisense, Geely and Huawei, who took part at the conference, and met with Zhao Rong, a representative of the People's Bank of China.

During the conference, the Automotive Cluster of Slovenia (ACS) and the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) signed a letter of intent to establish a partnership with the aim of more effective international knowledge exchange, technology transfer and investment, with a particular focus on the development and production of electric vehicles, their systems and components, as well as related technologies and knowledge development.

Tanja Mohorič, Director of ACS, said that it is extremely important for the Slovenian automotive industry to look for new opportunities in these turbulent times: "With Europe currently being our main market, and within Europe especially Germany with 40% of our industry's exports, we are aware of the need to diversify risks and look for new opportunities. This is why China, which is gaining ground in the automotive industry and is also coming to Europe, is an important partner. I believe that, by starting to build relationships, by signing the letter of intent, we will have both the basis and the commitment to continue to seek new contacts and build partnerships between companies. Our aim is not just to work in principle, but to find the right partners to work together on the business side."

During his visit, the Minister also met with a Slovenian business delegation, Chinese guests and partners, and Slovenians living in Shanghai. He also attended the opening ceremony of the exhibition to honour Alma Karlin.

Opportunities for strengthening cooperation

China plays an important role in the economic structure of the world, and Slovenia recognises it in this respect in its bilateral relations. Economic cooperation between the two countries is good. Slovenia identifies potential for enhanced cooperation especially in the automotive industry, e-mobility, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, green technologies, renewable energy sources and alternative energy production.

Slovenia has been recognised as an interesting potential partner in China as well. Apart from its excellent location for logistics and trade between Europe and Asia, it represents an excellent opportunity for investment in production capacity within the EU. This is particularly true due to its highly educated workforce, its excellent ecosystem of high-tech companies linked to research institutions and its excellent location in the centre of Europe.

Economic cooperation between the two countries

China is Slovenia’s most important trading partner in Asia. Almost 5000 Slovenian importers and almost 500 Slovenian exporters do business with this market. Since 2018, trade in goods has grown strongly, with imports from China to Slovenia growing the most (by a factor of 7, amounting to EUR 7.65 billion in 2023). This ranks China as Slovenia's fourth most important trading partner. The value of exports from Slovenia to China in 2023 was EUR 259 million, while the value of imports from China to Slovenia was EUR 7.4 billion. The most common exports are medical devices, mechanical components, automotive parts, wood, plastics and polyamides. The most common imports are telecommunications equipment, energy equipment and heterocyclic compounds for pharmaceuticals.

China is also one of the priority markets within the 2021 Programme Promoting Investment and Internationalisation of the Slovenian Economy. Slovenian investments in China cover the automotive, electrical and chemical industries, pharmaceuticals, footwear and textiles, trade and transport, and are predominantly located in the wider hinterland of Shanghai. Slovenian investment in China was worth 116.7 million euros in 2023 (6.7 per cent more than in 2022). The largest Chinese investments in Slovenia include those of Oufit7, Hisense and Porton. There are 154 Chinese-owned or jointly-owned companies operating in Slovenia, the largest of which are Elaphe, Woodlands, Hisense, Porton, Oric, Tam, Imedia.

In the tourism sector, more than 34 thousand Chinese tourists visited Slovenia last year (an increase of 185% compared to 2022) and 66,570 overnight stays were generated (an increase of 123% compared to 2022). This constitutes 0.58% of all foreign overnight stays. Chinese tourists stay in Slovenia for an average of only 2 nights.