NEWS

President Rosen Plevneliev defined the results of his state visit in the People’s Republic of China as a crucial breakthrough in the opportunities for new Chinese investments in Bulgaria and in the cooperation between Bulgaria and China.  “Do invest in Bulgaria, our country is a really good place and China is our real friend,” the Head of State summarized the main messages after the second Chinese-Bulgarian business forum was held in Shanghai.

 

“I am convinced that we will see the concrete dimensions of the expansion of the Chinese investments and business in Bulgaria very soon,” Rosen Plevneliev told journalists in Shanghai. A total of seven agreements were signed at the meetings held between the business circles from the two countries in Beijing and Shanghai within the President’s visit to China – in the spheres of agriculture, of the trade with rose oil and products, of information technologies, of real estate.

 

The President emphasized that the Bulgarian side should prepare and present high-quality products and this depends not only on the business, but also on the politicians.  “Important infrastructure sites such as the tunnel under Shipka, hydro energy complexes, the Cherno More highway in which Chinese companies are ready to invest should be prepared well by the Bulgarian administration,” Rosen Plevneliev commented. State guarantees are necessary to this effect, the President added. He discussed with Chinese statesmen “an integrated and more creative” model so that the Chinese partners can successfully work within the framework of the European rules. In the Head of State’s words, this should be a model that is applicable in other EU member states and there are mechanisms that Bulgaria and China can work out together.

 

In April a session of the Intergovernmental Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation is due to be held, at which the concrete projects will be outlined, the President further informed. 

 

Rosen Plevneliev told the representatives of the Chinese and Bulgarian business in Shanghai that the great trust and friendship between Bulgaria and China has already produced results on all levels– the bilateral trade has grown by 400 percent in the past ten years and more than 20 Bulgarian towns and regions have already established close relationships with partners from China. “Our relationships are excellent on all levels – starting from the mayors and ending up with the presidents,” the Head of State summarized.

 

Before the Chinese and Bulgarian entrepreneurs at the forum Rosen Plevneliev highlighted his vision of Bulgaria as a door for goods, services and investments from China to Europe.  The President recalled that the greatest number of trans-European transport corridors pass through Bulgaria, our country has the lowest taxes in the EU, a stable economy and well-educated staff.

 

“We can give you land, industrial zones, a production base for export and re-export to the European markets,” Rosen Plevneliev addressed the Chinese business and laid the emphasis on the advantages from the shared long-term approach in Bulgaria’s partnership with China. 

 

The agriculture and production of food sector was defined as strategic during the talks held between the Bulgarian Head of State and the Chinese leaders. “Although we have excellent natural resources, we made a lot of short sighted decisions in the sphere of agriculture – 20 years ago we produced 20 times more meat and 50 times more tinned food for export. If you had produced so much in the past, then you can do it again,” the President commented the prospects in the sector. He also highlighted Bulgaria’s competitive advantages as a regional hub in the sphere of machine-building, the textile industry and logistics.

 

The Head of State also highlighted the process of economic revival in Bulgaria and the EU as an additional motivating factor for securing Chinese investments. “Coming to Bulgaria, the Chinese business will get into a market which is growing. We have a good basis which allows you to move ahead,” President Rosen Plevneliev summarized his messages to the Chinese business.

 

A meeting to be held between President Rosen Plevneliev and the mayor and the local government in Shanghai will mark the end of the President’s state visit to the People’s Republic of China.  

 

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