00:00Alyosha Malenkovich, our correspondent, reporting there.
00:02Sally Burdett has been speaking to the former Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia
00:06and former Ambassador to China.
00:09New World is emerging, and China is one of the driving forces of the New World.
00:18And now the representative of such important and great country is coming to Croatia.
00:25The point is this is not just one visit.
00:28This is in continuum.
00:31Various visits, discussions, meetings that are bringing our relations closer and more successful.
00:43Often in diplomatic visits like this, we talk about the importance of deepening ties,
00:49but we also talk about bridge building.
00:52But there is a very literal example of bridge building between China and Croatia.
00:57with a very famous bridge that has been built recently.
01:00It's one of the most visible examples of cooperation between the two nations.
01:05Do you think it serves as a model for future cooperation?
01:07We are so happy that Chinese company builds such a huge, for European standards, enormous bridge
01:17that is very important for Croatia, not only to the size, but also is connecting two parts
01:26of Croatia that is strategically important for the country.
01:30Also, this is the model of how China can do excellent projects in European Union.
01:39And this as a role model is not only important for Croatia, but for the whole Europe or European country.
01:49Croatia, of course, is a member of the European Union, the EU increasingly emphasizing the importance of reducing economic risks
01:57in its relationship with China.
01:59How does China balance strong ties with Beijing and a strong relationship to the EU?
02:08In this very moment, only few countries or not so many people are happy and satisfied with the world order,
02:19with the way how they live, with the quality of education or healthcare system, with trading among countries, with security
02:30on global level.
02:31This is the moment to help China to go global.
02:36Chinese ideas, Chinese culture, from calligraphy to traditional Chinese medicine,
02:42from this soft power that is oriented to the benefit of people.
02:48Of course, we are part of the European Union.
02:52European Union, Europe is part of our tradition, of our heritage.
03:01But this does not mean that we have to be locked.
03:09We have to find new ways, new opportunities, new recipes, how to build a better world,
03:18how to improve ties between European Union and China, and, of course, between Croatia and China.
