The ongoing 2nd Local Leaders Meeting of China and Central and Eastern European (CEE) Countries has sparked increasing interest of the delegates in business cooperation.

The international conference brought together more than 1,000 participants from local governments and companies in China and the 16 CEE countries.

Under the theme of "Local Cooperation -- Important Engine for China-CEEC Cooperation", the China-CEEC local leaders meeting and China Investment Forum are slated for Aug. 28 and Aug. 29.

CEEC is an OECD term for the group of countries comprising Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia.

"This meeting has offered a platform for comprehensive dialogue over economic cooperation and international investment between China and CEE countries," said a delegate on Thursday.

Following years of efforts by China and the Czech Republic, two-way trade between the two countries stood at 9.45 billion U.S. dollars by 2013.

The latter is now the second largest trading partner of China in Central and Eastern Europe, Cheng Yongru, economic and commercial counsellor of the Chinese embassy in the Czech Republic, told Xinhua.

Currently, there are 18 Chinese-funded enterprises in the Czech Republic while Skoda Auto, the largest car manufacturer in the Czech Republic, is one of the most successful enterprises in China.

"While cooperation between China and the Czech Republic has maintained a good momentum, there remains great potential to lift such cooperation to a higher level," the diplomat added.