site.btaDeputy PM Zafirov Discusses Cooperation with China’s Shandong Hi-Speed Group

Bulgaria’s outgoing Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Zafirov conferred with Wang Qifeng, Chair of the Board of Directors of China’s Shandong Hi-Speed Group, the Council of Ministers said in a press release on Tuesday. The meeting focused on opportunities for cooperation in infrastructure projects, trade, and logistics. Senior executives of the Chinese corporation and representatives of the Chinese Embassy in Bulgaria also attended.

In September 2025, during a visit to Beijing, Zafirov became acquainted with the capabilities of Shandong Hi-Speed Group in Shandong Province. At that time, the company expressed interest in Bulgaria. The group plays a leading role in the management of transport, energy, and financial infrastructure, operating more than 9,000 km of motorways and thousands of kilometres of railway lines.

Wang Qifeng presented the company’s potential and voiced hope for establishing cooperation with Bulgarian companies.

Zafirov highlighted the importance of the events held in 2025 for strengthening ties between the peoples of Bulgaria and China, including the Bulgaria-China Business Forum, the Bulgaria-China Intergovernmental Mixed Commission for Economic Cooperation, the China-Bulgaria Regional Cooperation Conference, the visit of Xiao Jie, Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, as well as a number of events marking the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Zafirov said that growing momentum has been observed over the past year in bilateral relations at the political level, which, thanks to joint efforts with the Chinese Embassy in Bulgaria, should also translate into economic results in Bulgaria.

Zafirov stressed that infrastructure is the area with the greatest potential for cooperation and welcomed efforts to identify new logistics hubs for transport connectivity, such as the port of Burgas, as well as the opportunity for Bulgarian goods, especially agricultural products, which traditionally enjoy strong interest among Chinese consumers, to find markets through the company’s logistics train services.