The president expects the launch of a direct Sofia-Beijing airline, as well as the opening of a branch of a Chinese bank in our country

President Rumen Radev expects a branch of a Chinese bank to be opened in Bulgaria, as well as a direct Beijing-Sofia airline, in order to activate business relations between the two countries.

During an exhibition of leading Chinese products and services and Bulgarian-Chinese business meetings at the National Palace of Culture, the head of state noted that it is being held in the year in which we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Bulgaria and China. The forum is the highlight of a series of meetings on the occasion of the anniversary, which is celebrated on October 1.

"We must not forget the fact that Bulgaria is the second country in the world to recognize the People's Republic of China. I even joke that the first country no longer exists formally and in practice we are the first country. This anniversary gives us an opportunity to examine our relations and I believe that today's meetings during this event will deepen and expand this cooperation," said Radev, quoted by BTA.

The President expressed hope that the meetings during the exhibition will also lead to practical dimensions in the relations between Bulgaria and China.

Radev recalled that during his official visit to Beijing in 2019, he and his Chinese colleague Xi Jinping signed a declaration on the establishment of a strategic partnership between Bulgaria and China.

"After this declaration, I still expect some things to happen. First of all, to have a branch of a Chinese bank in Bulgaria, so that there will be activation of business relations, and secondly, to have a direct airline between Beijing and Sofia, to increase business and tourism," said the head of state.

"Looking at the scale of today's forum, I think that this will happen soon, and the strong presence today is especially promising. In recent years, China has established itself as a very important partner of Bulgaria, and Bulgaria regards China with great respect," noted Radev.

The President recalled that since June there has been an industrial presence in Bulgaria with the opening of the plant in Plovdiv for aluminum components for electric cars.

"I hope that this is the first step, but not the last, and that we will still have mutually beneficial cooperation. The exhibition we saw testifies to the huge success of China, especially in the production of electric cars. Bulgaria in recent years has also been a huge success for "Our automotive sector is one of the fastest growing at the moment, with over 350 companies and 11 percent of GDP," the president pointed out.

According to him, there is no car that was manufactured in Europe and that does not have a component from Bulgaria.

According to him, the cooperation between Bulgaria and China can be not only in the automotive industry, but also in other areas.

"Bulgaria is one of the centers in Eastern Europe for information technologies, also for robotics, communication technologies. The main share of Bulgarian exports is electronics, and I think that with joint work our relations can become even more serious. We have serious achievements in Space. We can also work together in the field of agriculture, and Bulgaria as a percentage in all of Europe has the most areas suitable for organic agriculture," said Radev.

According to him, Bulgaria provides one of the best conditions for investments both as a country and as support from the local government. There are also very good conditions for quick registration of legal entities.

"You won't find another country in the European Union that has a 10 percent corporate tax as well as a 10 percent personal income tax. Out of 264 municipalities, 152 benefit from state support for zero percent capital gains tax on investment", the head of state pointed out.

Radev called on Chinese companies to take advantage of these conditions for doing business in Bulgaria.

He outlined the successes of Bulgarian students and pupils who win medals, as well as the presence of highly qualified specialists in our country.

"There are many possibilities. I hope that all this will be discussed at today's business forum. I believe that today more new opportunities will be highlighted and this is precisely about dialogue. I want to share Bulgaria's expectations to have an even more balanced trade "Bulgaria can do a lot more in easing all procedures for a balanced exchange of goods, which is currently four billion dollars and if we continue like this, it will become 10 billion dollars in the foreseeable future," the president noted.

He also emphasized the fact that the second largest border point in the world in terms of volume is between Bulgaria and Turkey, and the entire trade flow from Asia to Europe and back passes through it.

According to him, in terms of energy, Bulgaria is the best place in the entire region because it exports energy and has a very balanced energy mix, which will continue to develop.

Ambassador Qinli: We will open up even more to imports from Bulgaria

In turn, Dai Qinli, the Chinese ambassador in Sofia, said that Bulgaria provides China with very good opportunities for the development of cooperation in various fields. We hope and promise that China will continue to strive for the development of cooperation, added the ambassador, quoted by BTA.

"China is interested in investment in automobiles, spare parts, renewable energy, information and communication, agriculture, finance and others," Ambassador Dai Qinli listed.

"In the field of trade and investment cooperation, China will continue to liberalize and open access to markets to the world and expand its imports so that the Chinese market becomes an attractive opportunity for all countries in the world, including Bulgaria. I hope let's expand our imports from Bulgaria and thus improve and stabilize the trade exchange between the two countries," added the diplomat.

For the period from 2015 to 2023, the volume of bilateral trade between Bulgaria and China increased by 1.8 billion US dollars to 4.2 billion dollars, the ambassador pointed out. Bulgarian exports to China are about 1 billion US dollars by 2023.