Prime Minister of Romania Victor Ponta (R2) gives a speech at the launching ceremony on April 7, 2015. [Photo: Xinhua]

A Chinese construction company launched an affordable housing construction project in Craiova, the 6th largest city in Romania on April 7, 2015.

The China Shandong Ningjian Construction Group plans to build 1,800 affordable houses in two years, for low-income residents in Craiova.

It was reported that these houses will be sold at the price of 240 yuan or 39 U.S. dollars per square foot. The project has been seen as a significant breakthrough on economic cooperation between China and Romania.

Romania is one of the important stops along the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. Since Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met with his 16 counterparts from central and eastern European countries at a summit in the Romanian capital of Bucharest in 2013, the cooperation and exchange between China and Romania have been deeply developing in all areas. Meanwhile, regional cooperation has played an increasingly important role in the bilateral trade.

The Prime Minister of Romania, Victor Ponta, participated in the launching ceremony of the project on April 7, and said China and Romania have a huge potential on cooperation in many fields. He hoped the two countries will have more bilateral cooperation in the future.

Chinese ambassador to Romania Xu Feihong also said at the launching ceremony that the construction project has created a new model of cooperation between the two countries. Xu believes that China and Romania will have further development on energy and agriculture, and benefit more people in both countries.