Zagreb/Beijing - Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko met in Beijing on Saturday with the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Chinese National People's Congress, Zhang Dejiang, who invited Croatia to utilise China's increasingly intense cooperation with Central and East European countries.
Leko is on a four-day official visit to China with a political and business delegation.
Zhang said China and Croatia had deepened political trust, mutual respect and understanding on issues which both countries considered important, the Chinese news agency Xinhua said.
He said the progress in the cooperation in trade, the economy, science, education and agriculture was remarkable, as was the close cooperation on international and multilateral issues.
Since 2015 will be the tenth anniversary of Chinese-Croatian partnership, Zhang called on the two countries to intensify the good political cooperation on the economic front as well, stressing the need to identify the areas in which the business needs and interests of China and Croatia overlapped.
Zhang recommended stronger parliamentary cooperation, notably in sharing experiences in legislation, building an open economy and strengthening social stability.
The two parliaments should improve the mutual understanding of the Chinese and Croatian peoples, promote bilateral cooperation in education, tourism and the exchange of experts, and create a political, legislative and social environment for cooperation, Zhang said.
Leko said Croatia strongly supported the One-China policy and that it considered China a reliable friend.
"The Croatian parliament will cooperate with the National People's Congress to encourage change at all levels and a more productive cooperation in all areas," he said.