SOFIA, June 23 (Xinhua) -- An official from east China's Anhui Province on Thursday called for more cooperation between China and Bulgaria under the Belt and Road Initiative.
Li Guoying, deputy secretary of Communist Party of China Anhui Provincial Committee, said at the opening ceremony of a business forum that Bulgaria has always been an important partner of China and the two countries have great potential in bilateral cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative.
He also believed there was a huge room for strengthening relations between Anhui Province and Bulgaria in areas such as trade, agriculture and tourism.
Stamen Yanev, Executive Director of InvestBulgaria Agency, who also attended the forum, said Bulgaria wants to be a bridge between China and Europe, and to accomplish more and more projects under the Belt and Road Initiative.
China is Bulgaria's second largest export market outside the European Union, and there is a potential for Bulgaria to attract Chinese investment, because China is the 39th largest foreign investor in Bulgaria, Yanev said.
Vasil Gelev, executive director of the Association for the Promotion of Agricultural Cooperation between China and the Central and Eastern European Countries, added that China is a strategic partner of Bulgaria, and Chinese investment in all areas of the Bulgarian economy are of great importance for the Balkan country.
A total of 20 companies from Anhui Province and more than 50 representatives from Bulgarian companies and municipalities attended the business forum on Thursday.
During the one-day event, two cooperation agreements were signed, including between Anhui International Chamber of Commerce and Bulgarian-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Chinese automaker JAC Motors and the Bulgarian company Sintis Technology.
In July 2014, Bulgarian Ministry of Economy and Energy and the Development and Reform Commission of Anhui Province signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Economic Cooperation, with the aim to enable businesses and organizations from Bulgaria and Anhui Province to strengthen investment and trade cooperation.
