The 2018 Discover the Home of Confucius: Shandong Cultural Trade (CEE) Exhibition was held in grand style during the China Brands Fair (Central and Eastern Europe) at the Central European Trade and Logistics Cooperation Zone in Budapest, Hungary from May 31 to June 2.

Jointly organized by the Shandong provincial department of commerce, the Shandong provincial publicity department, the Shandong development and reform commission and the Shandong tourism development commission, the exhibition was the largest of its kind held in countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Covering an area of 2,100 square meters, the Shandong exhibition was divided into four sections of sports, education, tourism and copyright, with 50 Shandong-based companies taking part, displaying a huge assortment of auto parts, construction materials, textile products, and food and tourism products.

According to Lv Wei, deputy director of the Shandong provincial department of commerce, the exhibition will lead to more cooperation between Shandong and Hungary as well as other CEEC countries.

The 2018 China Brands Fair (Central and Eastern Europe), divided into 16 categories such as machinery and equipment, electrical apparatus, lighting apparatus and light industrial products, attracted nearly 4,800 enterprises from the CEEC and about 260 Chinese companies.

The three-day fair, sponsored by China's Ministry of Commerce, was designed to further advance the "16+1" cooperation mechanism and promote trade cooperation between 16 Central and Eastern European countries.

The "16+1" cooperation mechanism is one of the most significant cross-regional cooperation mechanisms globally, which was jointly established by China and Central and Eastern European countries in Warsaw in 2012, with the 16 European participating members, namely Albania, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia and Hungary.

The Central European Trade and Logistics Cooperation Zone, comprising of an exhibition center in Budapest, and two logistic parks respectively in Csepel Port in Hungary and Bremen Port in Germany, is poised to further facilitate bilateral trade cooperation as the Belt and Road Initiative continues to unfold.

Officials from China and Hungary pose for a group photo at the 2018 Discover the Home of Confucius: Shandong Cultural Trade (CEE) Exhibition in Budapest, Hungary, May 31. [Photo/sdcom.gov.cn]

The opening ceremony of the 2018 China Brands Fair (Central and Eastern Europe) is held on May 31 in Budapest, Hungary. [Photo/sdcom.gov.cn]

The Nishan House bookstore is launched on May 31 Budapest, Hungary. Nishan House is a chain created by the Shandong Friendship Publishing House to carry forward fine traditional Chinese culture globally. Nishan, or Mount Ni, is regarded as the birthplace of Confucius. [Photo/sdcom.gov.cn]