SUZHOU, Jiangsu - Heads of governments from central and eastern Europe (CEE) nations got to experience the "China speed" firsthand on Nov 25 when, accompanied by Premier Li Keqiang, they boarded China's most advanced bullet train.

The CRH380A has a maximum speed of 486 kilometers per hour. The 25-minute trip took the leaders from the garden city of Suzhou to financial hub of Shanghai, 100 kilometers away, speeding past industrial parks and factories much of where laid bare farmlands just a decade ago.

At that speed, the train would take less than 20 hours to travel from Beijing to any of the leaders' hometowns.

Flags of China and 16 CEE countries and slogans that read "16+1>17" were painted on the body of the 16-carriage train, highlighting cooperation and development between China and the 16 countries which just completed an annual summit meeting in Suzhou, east China.

"The trip mirrors China-CEE cooperation - high speed, but comfortable and reassuring," Premier Li told the European leaders.

"It is very impressive," said Hungarian Prime Minister Orban Viktor. "China's development is indeed admirable."

His words echoed those of Polish President Andrzej Duda who said a day earlier that he hoped Poland and the entire Central and Eastern Europe could all benefit from China's growth.

Estonian Prime Minister Taavi Roivas expressed hopes that China will take part in high-speed railway construction in the Baltic region.

ALL ABOARD

The excursion on Nov 25 came just a day after China signed two separate deals with Hungary and Serbia on a high-speed rail link between Budapest and Belgrade that could cut travel time between the two capitals from eight hours to less than three.

Once completed, the railway will become part of a fast lane for importing and exporting goods between China and Europe. Macedonia also inked a deal with China in June to purchase six fleets of high-speed trains.