According to a press release from the Foreign Ministry, Bavdaž Kuret and Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Haixing found that the relationship between the two countries was developing successfully.

They also assessed that the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the countries would be a good opportunity for enhancing political, business and other links between them.

The Chinese official hailed growing bilateral merchandise trade, which Chinese data show increased by 14% last year, mainly owning to a rise in Slovenian exports. He praised cooperation between Slovenian and Chinese businesses as reflected in some major investments last year.

Liu also spoke of the importance of further cooperation within the 16+1 initiative involving 16 Central and East European countries and China, and the Chinese New Silk Road initiative.

Bavdaž Kuret agreed with the need for further enhancement in business links, expressing Slovenia's readiness to cooperate with China in winter sports in light of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

She also spoke of opportunities for bilateral cooperation through the 16+1 initiative, in which Slovenia will this year host a conference of agriculture ministers.

Slovenia is also willing to cooperate and share its experiences with China in areas such as science and technology, innovation and forestry, and wants to boost infrastructure and people-to-people links with China.

The new Slovenian visa application centre in Beijing is managed by VFS Global and enables Chinese citizens easier access to short-term visas for Slovenia.