site.btaChinese Ambassador to Bulgaria: EU Is Key Partner of China

In an interview for BTA's Valentina Dobrincheva here on Tuesday, Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Bulgaria Dai Qingli said that her country sees the EU as a key partner. The Ambassador attended a Bulgarian-Chinese forum in Varna, organized by the One Belt, One Road initiative.

"We have always believed that mutually beneficial cooperation should be the defining feature of China-EU relationship, because we have no conflict of strategic interest and we have every interest in pursuing mutually beneficial cooperation," she said. She expressed regret that the European Commission is engaged in protectionist moves against Chinese products, especially electrical vehicles, and that anti-subsidy tariffs were recently imposed. "We still hope that something can be worked out through the negotiations, but in any way we would prefer to handle this trade frictions in a reasonable and mutually acceptable way. Hopefully, this can be worked out," she commented.

The Ambassador sees tremendous potential in cooperation between China and Varna at many different levels, for example in infrastructure development and connectivity. In her words, Varna is a strategic port on the Black Sea and could be a key point in a shipping route from China to Europe. China would be interested in working with Varna to improve its infrastructure, including ports, roads, and railways.

There is also strong interest in the introduction of traditional Chinese medicine to Varna as well as in cultural exchange. "We'll be working with the Mayor and the Municipality to try to take our cooperation forward," she noted. She recalled that Varna has been twinned with the key Chinese port city of Ningbo for twenty years, and expressed the hope that at the Bulgarian-Chinese forum, where there are representatives of other regions, fruitful discussions will be held about future city-to-city partnerships.

Tuesday's forum was dedicated to the 75th anniversary of Bulgarian-Chinese diplomatic relations and the 20th anniversary of Varna and Ningbo becoming twin cities. The event was organized by the One Belt, One Road National Association, the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Sofia, the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria, in partnership with Varna Municipality. Among the participants in the forum were Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev, One Belt, One Road National Association head Zahari Zahariev, and Ningbo Deputy Mayor Xu Yanan.