According to Marjan Hribar of the Economy Ministry, the talks at the

forum, where Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao announced a US$10bn credit line for

central and eastern Europe to support cooperation projects, were very

specific.

Highlighting Luka Koper and the railways, including the

planned second track between Koper and Divača, Hribar told the STA that

negotiations on these matters had already began a year ago.

A

memorandum was signed, a consortium of interested companies established, a

response from Slovenia has however been pending, he said.

The

response comes now, the official said, adding that Slovenia was open to

strengthening cooperation, in trade as well as in the sense of providing an

entrance point for Chinese products headed for Europe and

vice-versa.

While Prime Minister Janez Janša was among the heads of

government to meet Wen Jiabao today, the forum is also attended by Tanja

Drobnič of the Public Agency for Entrepreneurship and Foreign Investments

(JAPTI).

Drobnič announced before the meetings that she expected

Chinese representatives to clearly outline their key goals when putting up

capital for central European companies.

She said this would be a good

starting point for JAPTI's June conference in Portorož, where business

will be discussed by Slovenian and Chinese companies.

Trade between

Slovenia and China has been relatively modest given China's potential,

reaching around EUR 600m last year, which was an 11% increase over the year

before. Slovenian exports only accounted for EUR 100m.

There have

been no notable Chinese investments in Slovenia. The Chinese have expressed

interest for cooperation, in some cases also with ownership capital,

especially in telecommunications, energy, infrastructure and

transport.

Asked why no Slovenian companies attended the forum,

Drobnič said that JAPTI had strived to see 39 companies attending that are

already present in China.

The companies decided against it only

because of expense concerns, assessing that the mainly political nature of

the forum does not warrant the trip.

The companies that are not yet

in business with China on the other hand need a different kind of event, at

which they will be able to meet potential partners, she

explained.

The forum, attended by around 1,000 participants, mostly

from China and Poland, opened with addresses by Wen and Polish PM Donald

Tusk.

Wen announced a special US$10bn credit line for the region for

joint projects in infrastructure, new technologies and green energy. Also

planned is a US$500m fund for supporting Chinese companies investing in

Central and East Europe.