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TO most Chinese, Poland used to be a question mark off the popular European tourist track. If you asked them to list a few of Poland’s most famous industries and products, you would probably get a shrug.

And that, to some degree, is the same for the Poles. They have not joined the investment stampede into China in any significant way. But the bilateral business relations and the knowledge about each other have been on the way up in recent years.

It’s time to build better bridges, according to Andrzej Pieczonka, a first consul at Poland’s consulate-general in Shanghai. Pieczonka is responsible for trade and investment promotion.

“The World Expo 2010 helped many Chinese people learn about Poland,” he said. “We are the country that gave the world Chopin and the great scientist Marie Curie.”

He admitted that few Chinese really know the Poland of today. It is the sixth-largest country in the European Union by territory and population, and the largest country in Central Europe. It is famous for furniture-making, jewelry, cosmetics, mining and biotech. It is the second-largest supplier in the world to IKEA after China.

The Chinese market is relatively unfamiliar to Polish companies even though the Chinese-Polish Joint Stock Shipping Co was China’s first joint venture, established in Tianjin in 1951. It later moved its headquarters to Shanghai.

Pieczonka said Poland has been concentrating on developing trade with its European neighbors in the past two decades. It joined the EU in 2004.

“World Expo 2010 enabled Polish companies to see the huge potential of China’s consumption power,” said Pieczonka. “We have seen a notable rise of interest in Polish companies toward China. This change is partly the result of Poland’s desire to accelerate development as well as China’s new strategy of enhancing cooperation with Central Europe.”

According to the consulate, more than 110 Polish companies took part in SIAL China, Asia’s largest food trade fair, which was held in Shanghai earlier this year. The number of Polish participants far exceeded expectations.

Then, too, Polish business representatives participated in the first China-Central and Eastern European Countries Investment and Trade Expo held in June in Ningbo, the 2015 China International Fair for Investment and Trade held in September in Xiamen, and the China Industry Fair held in Shanghai in November.

The recent visit to China by Polish President Andrzej Duda helped accelerate bilateral ties.

Duda, who took office in August, was in China in November, with stopovers in Beijing, Shanghai and Suzhou. He attended the Economic and Trade Forum for China-Central and Eastern European Countries, a top-level event with China’s leadership, held in Suzhou.

“The president was very satisfied with his visit,” said Pieczonka. “He clearly stated Poland’s full support for China’s new ‘Belt and Road’ strategy and its commitment as a member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.”

The “Belt and Road,” an initiative of President Xi Jinping, aims to build a modern-day Silk Road linking China with Europe and Africa by land and by sea.

“It is a strategy that is more than just transport,” said Pieczonka. “It will enhance mutual understanding and promote cooperation between the two countries on all fronts, including trade, investment, technology, culture, education, tourism and even innovation.”

Trains are already carrying cargo between Lodz in Poland and Chengdu in southwest China. The rail route, which began operating two years ago, was extended to Xiamen this year. Also, LOT Polish Airlines flies directly between Beijing and Warsaw.

Last year, bilateral trade between Poland and China reached 19.2 billion euros (US$20.4 billion), compared with 16.2 billion euros in 2013. More than 2,400 Polish exporters trade with China.

Earlier this year, a Polish company selling furniture, foodstuffs and jewelry became the first foreign firm registered in Shanghai’s new free trade zone.

“We hope to become a logistics hub for Chinese businesses in Europe, and we hope Chinese consumers will increasingly purchase products from Poland,” Pieczonka said.

Food exports, including diary products and fresh fruit, will be the focus next year as Poland seeks to increase and diversify trade with China.

To help Polish companies, especially smaller ones, start business in China, Pieczonka’s department has hosted workshops, extending invitations to young Polish entrepreneurs to attend. Not long ago, Poland also opened a tourism office in Beijing to promote its scenic attractions, and next year may see the launch of a Polish chamber of commerce in China.

“We are betting that 2016 will be a very busy year for us,” Pieczonka said.