site.btaPM Borissov, National Assembly Chairperson Karayancheva Meet with Chinese Delegation Visiting Sofia

110 POLITICS-BULGARIA-CHINA-TALKS update 1

PM Borissov, National Assembly Chairperson Karayancheva Meet with Chinese Delegation Visiting Sofia


Sofia, July 12 (BTA) - Bulgaria highly values the relations with
the People's Republic of China and hopes that the sides can
achieve significant results in the practical cooperation and
raise the relations to a new higher level on the occasion of the
70th anniversary of the establishments of bilateral diplomatic
relations, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said Friday during a
meeting with Li Hongzhong, a member of the 19th Politburo of the
Communist Party of China, whose post equal to a Deputy Prime
Minister of China, the government's information service said.

Hongzhong heads a delegation on a visit to Bulgaria. The meeting
with Borissov was also attended by Chinese Ambassador here Dong
Xiaojun and representatives of senior bodies of the city of
Tianjin.

Borissov noted the good cooperation between the two countries at
the level of governments, parliaments and regions. The
participants in the talks discussed opportunities for
cooperation in areas of mutual interest between Bulgarian and
Chinese cities.

In the talks Borissov said that Bulgaria supports the One Belt
One Road and 17+1 initiatives, stressing that this country wants to
see practical results from them in the form of projects in energy and
infrastructure with Chinese investments, implemented in
compliance with the EU principles and standards, on a market
principle and without state guarantees.

Borissov also dwelled on the outcomes of the Seventh 16+1 Summit
held in Sofia in 2018 which contributed to the enrichment of
the ties between China and the EU.

The Prime Minister also said that Chinese companies can invest
in the creation of businesses in Bulgaria for modern and
innovative products in support of the green economy.

Borissov also said that Bulgaria relies on the help of China to
further increase the cooperation in tourism, education, culture,
science and contacts between the young people.

Later in the day the Chinese delegation was received by National Assembly Chairperson Tsveta Karayancheva, Parliament said in a press release.

The talks were attended by the Chairperson of the parliamentary Foreign Policy Committee, Djema Grozdanova and members of the Bulgaria-China Friendship Group in Parliament.

Karayancheva said that scope for cooperation exists in a number of areas, including education, infrastructure, and strategic projects. She noted the long-time relations between the two countries, adding that there are excellent contacts between the parliaments of Bulgaria and China.

Li Hongzhong noted the traditional friendship between the two peoples and thanked Karayancheva for the support for the One Belt, One Road and 17+1 initiatives. The guest said that the bilateral relations have now reached the level of strategic partnership between the two countries' governments and legislatures. Hongzhong said that the bilateral cooperation is underpinned by a solid political foundation so that the purpose of his visit to Bulgaria is to strengthen further the friendly relations between the institutions of the two countries and also cooperation at the local level. He said the task now is to have more actual projects for cooperation that match the level of the relations.

The Chairman of the Bulgaria-China Friendship Group in Parliament, Dimiter Boychev, said that the group is one of the biggest in the Bulgarian National Assembly which shows "how many friends China has in Bulgaria". RY/ZH//