WARSAW - The Belt and Road Initiative (B&R) is crucial for China-Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) relations, the Chinese ambassador to Poland Xu Jian underlined Friday.

Addressing a conference here which brought together experts from Poland and abroad, Xu said: "The Belt and Road Initiative was proposed by China but belongs to the world," adding that from 2014 to 2016, total trade volume between China and other B&R countries exceeded $3 trillion, with China's overall investments in these countries surpassing $50 billion.

Speaking to the first China-CEE development forum on Friday, Xu said: "Chinese enterprises have invested more than $8 billion in CEE region and expanded the investment areas."

Jiang Jianqing, chairman of the SINO-CEE Fund, emphasized the role of CEE countries as "a crucial hub connecting East and West, located between the vital markets of the EU, Russia and the Middle East.

Poland's Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Development Pawel Chorazy stressed the need for a more balanced collaboration that would see win-win for both sides: "More Chinese businesses would be welcome, with open arms, to Poland. We would also expect Chinese parties to be equally open," he said.

In May 2017, China held the B&R Forum attended by the heads of state and governments from 29 countries. Later this year, the 6th China CEE Summit will be held in Budapest, capital of Hungary.