2024-09-21 07:40:20
75 years ago, back in 1949, the People’s Republic of Bulgaria became the second country in the world to recognize the People’s Republic of China. A fact that is well remembered and appreciated in today’s China. And although the two countries have gone through various political, geopolitical and economic vicissitudes, the deep Bulgarian-Chinese connection still exists. As recently H.E. China’s ambassador Dai Qingli told Bulgarian media, “traditional friendship becomes permanent”. But what is the future of Bulgarian-Chinese relations and their significance for the fate of the Balkans and even Europe?
But first a brief historical review to understand how serious and significant the connections are. Georgi Dimitrov, in his capacity as head of the Comintern, played a key role in the formation of a united popular front in China against Japanese aggression in the 1930s and 1940s. It is a curious fact that the patriarch of Bulgarian literature, Ivan Vazov, was popular in China in the 1930s, and even today his works can be found in Chinese libraries. The fight against the Axis powers – specifically Germany and Japan – also indirectly brought Bulgarians and Chinese closer together during the Second World War.
Later in 1950, the PRC and the People’s Republic of China exchanged ambassadors, and bilateral relations developed on a full scale for almost the entire decade. Contracts were signed for cooperation in culture, science, technology, agriculture. Already in 1952, a trade agreement was signed between the two countries. Again in the early 1950s, we had the first student exchange between Bulgaria and China.
Because of the rift between the USSR under Khrushchev and China, in the 1960s the relations between the People’s Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China ceased to be so deep, but in the 1970s they revived. This kind of rebirth of ties takes place in areas such as trade, culture and seafaring. At the end of the 1980s, and more precisely in 1987, the General Secretary and Head of Bulgaria Todor Zhivkov visited China, which marked a new stage in the development of bilateral relations.
In modern times, intensive relationships continue, although they have not reached their full capacity. The number of Bulgarian pupils and students studying Chinese is increasing, and there are already Chinese students studying Bulgarian in China itself. According to the China Customs Administration, in 2004 the trade exchange between the two countries was 410 million dollars, and in 2014 it was as much as 2.17 billion dollars. Today, the figure is even higher. Today 4.2 billion dollars is the exchange between the two countries! Bulgaria exports copper cathodes, silver and gold ore, corn and other raw materials to the world’s second largest economy, and imports everything from solar panels to cars and electronics to textiles. Bulgarian agricultural products, wine, cosmetics, etc. are also of interest to the Chinese market.
China is interested in investing in areas such as automotive, spare parts, renewable and green energy, where the country is a world leader, as well as telecommunications and even finance. Chinese investors and the state appreciate Bulgaria’s opportunities and strengths and understand that the country’s strategic position offers huge prospects.
Until recently, there was the production of Chinese cars in Bulgaria, and in addition there is a subsidiary of Huawei and Junxin, as well as a subsidiary of the China Development Bank and others. In 2019, an agreement was reached on the creation of a “World Partnership Center” in Sofia, which would support consulting services of institutions and enterprises from the mechanism between China and CEE.
Against the background of the opening of China after Covid, which as a process will only develop and deepen, the opportunities for Bulgaria are also inexhaustible, because today the PRC is not just a global workshop, as they talked about the country in the 90s, but a global scientific and technological, economic and innovation leader. China and Bulgaria, for example, can jointly develop many projects in fields such as artificial intelligence, where the Chinese are pioneers not only in its development, but also in the creation of ethical norms and guidelines for the development of this promising technology.
Bulgaria can also be an important and integral part of the still developing projects within the “One Belt, One Road” initiative. This, to recall, is the largest economic and infrastructure initiative in human history, interconnecting over 100 countries. Once impoverished regions like Pakistan or Sri Lanka are now being gentrified and seeing serious growth thanks to this initiative. Even more telling is the example of our neighbors Serbia and Greece, where China has invested many billions in high-speed railways, ports, airports, logistics bases, highways and what not.
Today, it is not an exaggeration to say that as a result of Chinese investments, neighboring Serbia is developing no worse than a number of EU member states, although it is a completely landlocked country that is not a member of the continental bloc. Even greater prospects could open up for Bulgaria, which is not only a member of the EU, but also borders Turkey and has access to the Black Sea, which makes it a geo-economically and strategically important country.
But most of all, the relationship can and should be built on the basis of the already 75-year-old tradition, which fully fits into Xi Jinping’s ideas of a global community of shared destiny, where each civilization, preserving its unique and distinctive character, will be able to to contribute to the common good. Bulgaria has not communicated so far with a great power like China, which does not seek hegemony or neo-colonial control, but mutual benefit and looks to achieve everything in a way that makes everyone happy.
It is the Chinese understanding of respect, equality and common destiny that makes it possible for six million Bulgaria to be an equal partner and friend of 1.4 billion China, bound together by our long shared history of friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance. These relations must be preserved and developed, as well as not become a victim of the current geopolitical conjuncture, as well as decisions dictated by third parties.