China is the third largest export market for Bulgarian goods outside the European Union in 2022 and in the top 10 of our trading partners in the world. This was said by the Minister of Economy and Industry Nikola Stojanov during a meeting of the ‘breakfast with investors’ format with representatives of the Chinese business in Bulgaria. He added that the trade between the two countries has been growing steadily and reached USD 4.2 billion last year.
‘We see significant interest from Chinese companies that want to invest in Bulgaria in order to export goods more easily within the European Union,’ Minister Stojanov emphasized. He added that the state industrial zones in the country offer established infrastructure and excellent opportunities for positioning manufacturing and development centres. ‘We are ready to provide full institutional and expert support to companies interested in developing their projects in Bulgaria,’ Stojanov said.
During the meeting it was discussed that Bulgaria has a significant potential to expand its exports to China of products for which our country is traditionally known in Asia. ‘Bulgaria is known as the country of roses, yoghurt and wine, but we actually have much more to offer the Chinese market. On the other hand, the Bulgarian state seeks to attract more Chinese investments in sectors such as high-tech industrial production and services, information and telecommunication technologies, automotive industry, agriculture, tourism,’ Minister Stojanov said.
During the talks issues related to cooperation between Bulgarian and Chinese companies in the field of e-commerce, measures to support companies that want to invest in renewable energy, measures to promote multimodal transport with Europe, etc. were discussed. The representatives of the Chinese companies expressed their gratitude to the Bulgarian institutions for the support they receive in overcoming and solving various issues related to their business in the country.
The meeting was attended by representatives of over 15 Chinese companies investing in various sectors in Bulgaria: information and communication technologies, electric transport, nuclear energy, renewable energy sources, food industry, tourism, etc. The breakfast is organized in cooperation with the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Bulgaria. Participating in the talks were H. E. Dong Xiaojun, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Bulgaria and Vladimir Zinoviev, Advisor at the Ministry of Economy and Industry.