SOFIA, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Bulgarian President Iliana Iotova met with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi here on Monday, with both sides pledging to strengthen bilateral ties and cooperation.
Asking Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, to convey her sincere greetings to Chinese President Xi Jinping, Iotova said Bulgaria and China have a long history of friendship and the two countries established a strategic partnership in 2019, with bilateral relations having enjoyed sustained development on the basis of equality and mutual benefit.
Bulgaria will continue to adhere to the one-China policy, the president stressed.
Recalling her visit to China last October to attend the Global Leaders' Meeting on Women, during which she reached broad consensus with the Chinese side on the next steps in bilateral cooperation, Iotova described Wang's visit as a good opportunity to deepen Bulgaria-China relations, help maintain close communication and coordination, and promote future cooperation.
The two sides are stepping up preparations for high-level exchanges next year, looking forward to bringing bilateral relations to a new level, the president added.
Moreover, Iotova said Bulgaria's new government has a strong desire to accelerate cooperation with China, a move that enjoys broad public support. Bulgaria looks forward to opening direct flights with China as soon as possible to deepen bilateral economic and trade cooperation and facilitate people-to-people and cultural exchanges, she said, adding that Bulgaria hopes to expand cooperation with China in sectors including agriculture, science and technology, education and new energy.
Iotova also said that Bulgaria shares China's views on the political settlement of conflicts and disputes, hopes that China will continue to play an important role in safeguarding world peace and Bulgaria is willing to strengthen coordination with China in this regard.
For his part, Wang conveyed Xi's good wishes to Iotova while expressing appreciation for her long-standing efforts to promote bilateral relations, and people-to-people and cultural exchanges.
Bulgaria is one of the first countries to recognize the People's Republic of China, and the two countries have enjoyed a solid political foundation, with mutual trust being continuously enhanced, Wang noted.
Although the two countries differ in history, culture and system, they understand, appreciate, respect and support each other, which has promoted the steady and sound development of bilateral relations and brought benefits to the two peoples, Wang said.
Wang also reaffirmed that China respects Bulgaria's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, supports its efforts to accelerate development and revitalization, and welcomes its playing an important role on the international stage. China hopes that Bulgaria will continue to understand and support China's legitimate position on safeguarding its core interests and cement the political foundation of bilateral relations, Wand added.
Wang said China-Bulgaria cooperation has a solid foundation, meets practical needs and holds promising prospects and potential. Bulgaria's new government has demonstrated its ambition to accelerate the advancement of relations with China, and China also stands ready to strengthen communication and expand cooperation with Bulgaria to support both sides in promoting their development and revitalization, he added.
In addition, Wang said relations between countries are fundamentally interactions between peoples, urging both sides to enhance people-to-people and cultural exchanges and mutual understanding and consolidate the public and social foundation of bilateral relations to provide greater impetus for deepening mutually beneficial cooperation.
Noting that in today's turbulent world, peace and development face unprecedented challenges, Wang stressed that China is willing to strengthen multilateral coordination with Bulgaria, bridge differences through dialogue, overcome estrangement through trust, and address challenges through action, to jointly uphold multilateralism and build a community with a shared future for humanity. ■
