site.btaChina's Vice Minister Ling Calls for Increased Bulgarian Export to His Country

The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry organized a Bulgaria-China Business Forum here on Monday. The event took place with the support of Bulgaria's Ministry of Economy and Industry and the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Sofia and was a tie-in with the 18th Session of the Bulgarian-Chinese Intergovernmental Mixed Commission for Economic Cooperation.

China's Vice Minister of Commerce Ling Ji, who heads the Chinese delegation, said at the forum that Bulgaria and China should work for expanding their two-way trade, which has been growing steadily over the last year and whose development should be maintained. "Bulgaria should also increase its export to the Chinese market, which has a significant potential," the guest added.

Ling outlined two areas for deepening bilateral cooperation: first, support for the participation of Bulgarian companies in exhibitions in China and, second, the need to strengthen investment partnership. He pointed out that the Bulgarian economy has solid foundations and is capable of attracting more foreign investments. In his opinion, Bulgaria's forthcoming accession to the eurozone in January 2026 will contribute to a greater security of Chinese investments in this country. 

The Vice Minister encouraged Bulgarian enterprises to target their investor interest at China. As yet another priority, he noted the need of cooperation in strengthening multilateralism which, in his words, provides a basis for broad international business contacts.

"At this important point in the development of the world, we take the right side of history, and we insist on the building of a predictable, transparent and fair international environment," said Ling, adding that despite all changes on the international plane, China and Bulgaria remain good partners.

The guest credited the active work of the two countries' governments for the stable advancement of bilateral relations. He cited statistics, according to which the two-way trade between Bulgaria and China increased from USD 2.9 billion in 2020 to USD 4.1 billion in 2024. This represents a growth of 8.6%, or 4.1 percentage points more than the increase in China-EU trade. The stock of Chinese investments in Bulgaria approximates USD 170 million, and they are concentrated in telecommunications, photovoltaics, agriculture and other production fields.

Ling sees the participation of over 100 companies of the two countries in Monday's forum as a sign of the readiness of their business communities to cooperate more actively. 

Among the Chinese corporations attending the event, the Vice Minister of Commerce listed Contemporary Amperex Technology (a manufacturer of electric vehicle batteries with branches in Germany, Hungary and Spain), China Railway Group, Shandong Hi-Speed Group (a company with worldwide operations in road and other infrastructure engineering and construction), China Minmetals, Sino-CEEF Capital Management (financial intermediation between China and countries of Central and Eastern Europe), and companies specializing in cross-border transfers and services, transport carriers, and manufacturers of electric vehicle charging stations. The China Chamber of Commerce to the EU is also represented at the forum.

"At present the world is undergoing numerous changes, and I believe that the more challenges arise, the more we need to strengthen our contacts and seek now points of growth," Ling Ji said, addressing the business forum in Sofia.