The forum was organised by the Croatian Chamber of Commerce as part of the 2nd China International Import Expo and it attracted many companies from both countries.

Opening the forum, Jandrokovic called on Chinese companies to invest in Croatia and underscored that Croatia wishes to increase its exports to China and balance out their trade.

This type of direct talks between Croatian and Chinese companies will contribute to the development of business cooperation between Croatia and China, Jandrokovic underlined.

Considering the growing interest of Croatian companies in the Chinese market, Jandrokovic expressed his confidence that today's talks would help increase Croatian exports to China, strengthen Chinese investment in Croatia and further increase the number of Chinese tourists coming to Croatia.

Jandrokovic made reference to Croatia's geographic advantages and its benefits as a business and investment destination thanks to a series of reforms that the Croatian government has carried out recently, the press release said.

Jandrokovic also spoke about the importance of cooperation between Croatia and China within the "China+17" and "One Belt, One Road" initiatives, underscoring that now that a political framework has been established for Croatian-Chinese cooperation an opportunity exists to boost trade.

The offices of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce and Croatian Tourism Board in Shanghai should provide institutional support in that regard as they have an important role in promoting the Croatian economy on the Chinese market, he said.

"There is a lot of interest in strengthening Croatian-Chinese cooperation," Jandrokovic said at the end of the forum, assessing that his visit to China has been a success.

"There are a lot of Chinese companies wishing to cooperate with Croatian companies. Some of them are interested in investing in Croatia and some are here to ensure that their Croatian partners can come onto the Chinese market," he added.

Referring to a statement by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang that Croatian-Chinese relations have entered a diamond period, Jandrokovic said that "now is the time, after a political framework has been established, for Croatian entrepreneurs and companies to seek their space and try to export their products and services to the Chinese market."