Within the framework of an official visit to the Chinese capital Beijing, the Minister of Economy and Industry Petar Dilov held a series of key meetings with high-ranking Chinese officials, focused on deepening bilateral economic relations.
During a working meeting with Lin Ji, Deputy Minister of Trade of the People's Republic of China, specific mechanisms for expanding trade exchange were discussed. Statistical data show that for the period January-June 2025, the trade turnover between Bulgaria and China reached an impressive 2.2 billion US dollars.
The two co-chairs of the Bulgarian-Chinese Intergovernmental Mixed Commission for Economic Cooperation agreed that the upcoming 18th session of the Commission will be held in Sofia this year. As an additional initiative, Minister Dilov proposed organizing a bilateral business forum in parallel.
High value-added sectors were identified as priority partnership areas, including automotive manufacturing, electronics, information technology, agriculture, and food industry. Special emphasis was placed on opportunities to attract Chinese investments in Bulgarian industrial zones.
In the context of export opportunities, Bulgarian products with potential for success in the Chinese market were highlighted - agricultural and food products, essential oils, cosmetics, wine, and mineral water. The Chinese side showed particular interest in Bulgarian rose products, which are already recognizable in the Asian country.
An additional meeting was held with Ren Hongbin, Chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade. The discussion covered topics such as interaction between business communities, trade and investment support, and cooperation in industrial supply chains.
Parallel to the economic negotiations, Minister Dilov supported the Bulgarian national team participating in the Second Edition of the International Artificial Intelligence Olympiad. In his opening speech, he emphasized Bulgaria's ambitions to build an innovative ecosystem that places humans at the center of technological progress.
Ren Hongbin further emphasized the need for both countries to focus on new areas of interaction, such as innovation, digitalization, and energy efficiency, which confirms the strategic nature of Bulgarian-Chinese economic relations.