There is a big thirst for China stories

Central and eastern European nations keen to learn and gain from Chinese experience

China's economic slowdown has gained a lot of attention in the Western media in the past year or two, and its prospects for long-term growth is something Central and Eastern European countries are eager to learn more about.

During a visit to Bulgaria and Slovenia last month with a group of Chinese reporters organized by the All-China Journalists Association, the most frequent remark I heard from my counterparts in the local media was, "I want more China stories."

I was delighted to find that one Bulgarian newspaper runs a six-page special on China each week. The determination of a newspaper and a TV and radio station in Slovenia to keep a correspondent in China despite the financial burden, particularly given the pressure that traditional media face in the Internet era, also came as a pleasant surprise.

China's double-digit growth over the past 30 years or so has, of course, been a wonder to the world. After all, no other country has managed to raise the living standards of so many people by so much in such a short period.

However, as the world's second- largest economy has entered a period of lower but more sustainable growth in recent years, many Western media have depicted China as a source of concern, instead of a key driving force, for the world economy. Such pessimism fails to reflect the long-term potential of the Chinese economy, and it creates the impression that China's story of growth is no longer a popular one worldwide.

But in Central Europe and Eastern Europe, the local media's insatiable demand for more China news makes it clear that the country's story of growth continues to be a popular one there and elsewhere.

There is no shortage of stories about China by Western news agencies. But the values that these media carry often blur the real and broad picture of China's development. For a country such as Bulgaria that is struggling to find a solid foundation for economic growth after all the changes in the past three decades, it seems much more relevant for it to find out what China has done correctly to keep social and economic progress going rather than looking at what, from a Western perspective, has gone wrong with the country.

To this end, local media either need to report China by themselves or obtain their news from the horse's mouth.

Another reason why Central and East European countries are displaying such a keen interest in China's growth may be the increasing collaboration between China and the region as a whole.

A little more than three years ago the first meeting between the leaders of China and 16 Central and Eastern European countries, including Bulgaria and Slovenia, was held in the Polish capital, Warsaw, to promote friendship and collaboration between the two sides.

Now, as China promotes the One Belt, One Road Initiative, or the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiatives, to upgrade transport infrastructure projects linking Asia and Europe, it is understandable that Central and Eastern European countries such as Bulgaria that act as a door for China to enter the vast European market will try to seize the development opportunities that westward Chinese investment can bring about.

For example, as an early fruit of the economic collaboration between the Bulgarian carmaker Litex Motors and Great Wall Motors of China has become a standard-bearer not only of China, but of the Bulgarian motor vehicle industry. Unlike other manufacturers that simply produce individual vehicle parts, Litex turns out cars. The plant is now an exclusive maker of Great Wall Motors in Europe and its main role is to facilitate the expansion of the Chinese brand in the Balkans, growing Eastern European markets and then spreading throughout Europe.

It is surprising that none of the car plant's 200 employees is from China. When the manager told me that the factory's production capacity will be raised from 5,000 vehicles a year to 50,000 a year in the future, and that it will employ 2,000, I realized why China's growth story remains so attractive for them.

The author is a writer with China Daily. Contact the writer at zhuqiwen@chinadaily.com.cn