site.btaDeepening Bulgaria-China Trade Cooperation "Benefits Both Countries"

Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) President Tsvetan Simeonov shared his opinion on matters related to the 10th anniversary of the One Belt One Road initiative with China Media Group (CMG). For Bulgaria, the partnership in numbers means an increase in bilateral trade by 158% in ten years and 27-fold in twenty years, he said.

In his words, the pandemic did not affect significantly the volume of bilateral trade; on the contrary, the interest runs both ways and remains constant. Unfortunately, the trade balance is traditionally negative for Bulgaria, Simeonov said.

The BCCI has over 20 partners from China: organizations of businesses, the national chamber of trade and commerce, and regoinal trade councils. Each year, the BCCI welcomes several delegations of representatives of Chinese businesses and the government, and organizes b2b and b2g meetings. For BCCI's more than 52,000 members, the prospective areas of bilateral cooperation with China include trade, investment, and tourism.

In the last several years, China has had a leading position in Bulgaria's foreign trade, ranking second (after Turkiye) among non-EU export partners. There is potential for diversification of the Bulgarian exports to China with wine, mineral water and other drinks, possibly under a single national brand. Attracting more tourists in both directions would further aid the bilateral relations' development.

According to data of the Bulgarian National Bank as at the end of 2022, China had invested EUR 154 million in Bulgaria, compared to BGN 131.6 million in late 2021, Simeonov said.