/ world today news/ “In the process of common construction, all parties are equal participants, contribute and benefit from the results equally. China is ready to share its development experience with other countries, but will not interfere in their internal affairs, does not seek to export its social system and development model, and will not impose them on anyone,” he said in an exclusive interview with KMG N.PR Dong Xiaojun – Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China in Bulgaria.
He shares his opinion on the role, importance, achievements, challenges and prospects on a global scale of the “One Belt, One Road” mega-initiative on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of its launch, also focusing on pragmatic contacts and more important investments in Bulgaria , in the context of the project and the partnership between the two countries.
Question: Your Excellency, this year marks the 10th anniversary of the launch of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s historic One Belt One Road mega-initiative, which has opened a new chapter in the development of China and the world economy. Please tell us some of the most important advantages and achievements of this long-term cross-border project and what is its significance and impact on global development, as well as on the Bulgarian-Chinese partnership?
Dong Xiaojun: In the past ten years, guided by the principles of joint discussion, joint construction and joint use, the Belt and Road Initiative has become a platform for international cooperation that transcends geographical limitations, overcomes cultural differences, considers the needs of development and is well received by all countries. A report based on big data analysis and published recently by the European Research Center Bruegel shows that for the past ten years, despite the challenges – resulting from complex factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic and great power relations – the Chinese initiative “ One Belt, One Road” remains popular worldwide, with developing countries particularly positive about it.
In the past ten years, China has signed cooperation documents with more than 150 countries and 30 international organizations, launched more than 3,000 joint projects that have attracted nearly 1 trillion dollars in investment, created 420,000 jobs in participating countries, and helped to relieve poverty of about 40 million people. Good examples of this are the development of the Port of Piraeus in Greece, the construction of the high-speed railway line between Jakarta and Bandung in Indonesia and the one between Bucharest and Belgrade. Rail freight between China and Europe and the maritime Silk Road are expanding. The Silk Road Fund and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank provide financial support for economic and trade cooperation. The joint construction of “One Belt One Road” effectively promotes interconnectedness, enables countries and regions within its scope to better integrate into the global supply chain, global industrial chain and value chain, helping economic globalization to be more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial to all.
Bulgaria is an important node of the “One Belt, One Road” initiative in the Balkan region. Since the signing of the Agreement on Cooperation in its construction in 2015, our two countries have continuously expanded pragmatic contacts in various fields such as economy, trade, agriculture, culture and education, deepened ties at the local level, and all this has enriched the content of our strategic partnership. The 16 megawatt biomass power plant built by Jinan Boiler Group Co., Ltd. was highly appreciated by the Bulgarian owner. Construction of another 15 megawatt PV plant project with contractor Pinggao (Pinggao Group Co., Ltd.) will begin soon. The Huasheng company (Anhui Huasheng New Energy Technology Co., Ltd.) has signed a framework agreement with its Bulgarian partners for the supply of photovoltaic systems, which will create Europe’s largest solar ground park using heterojunction modules with a capacity of 1 .5 gigawatts, and this deal is a good example of energy cooperation between China and Bulgaria and even for the whole of Central and Eastern Europe. Yutun electric buses run on the streets of a number of Bulgarian cities. We recently held a Dragon Boat Festival in Pancharevo, where there were competitions, stage performances, presentation of intangible cultural heritage, people could try our cuisine and buy souvenirs. 26 teams participated in the boat race, and the event was attended by over 10,000 people, even from neighboring countries. We are extremely touched by people’s interest in Chinese culture and are determined to continue working to expand and strengthen cultural exchanges.
During my recent visits to Vratsa and Yambol, they wished to open Chinese language study centers there, and this will happen within the current year. I am extremely happy that the Chinese language is becoming more and more popular among Bulgarians.
I am confident that with the further deepening of the construction of the “One Belt One Road” initiative and the cooperation between China and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, more Bulgarian high-quality agricultural products will be exported to China, more Chinese tourists will visit ” the land of roses’, we will exchange more students and more Chinese companies in fields such as new energies, innovation and development will come to invest and do business here.
Q: In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges facing the Belt and Road Initiative in the next decade, and which priorities should be given more attention?
Dong Xiaojun: The biggest challenges the Belt and Road Initiative will face in the future are likely to be ideological prejudices. Since it has already brought tangible results, in response, some Western countries greatly exaggerate the need to “reduce risks” and declare an economic “separation” with China, pursue a policy of trade protectionism and unilateralism, spread various delusions such as that China is carrying out “economic coercion”, that it puts other countries into “debt traps”, that it pollutes the environment, that it uses “forced labour” and practices “neo-colonialism”.
The joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative that China pursues follows the goals and principles in the UN Charter, and is based on openness, cooperation, harmony and inclusiveness, and is market-oriented and win-win. In the process of joint construction, all parties are equal participants, contributing and benefiting from the results equally. China is willing to share its development experience with other countries, but will not interfere in their internal affairs, does not seek to export its social system and development model, and will not impose them on anyone. In building the Belt and Road, we will not repeat the old model of geopolitical games, but strive to create a new model for mutually beneficial cooperation. We will not form a narrow group that undermines stability, but a large family in which everyone exists together in harmony.
The tenth anniversary of the joint construction of “One Belt, One Road” marks a completely new beginning. In the future, the joint construction of the initiative will lay a new beginning in the practice of wider, higher level and deeper international cooperation. China will continue to work with its partners to make steady progress on the road to sustainable development, work for initiative participants to cooperate with each other and use each other’s advantages, and continue to demonstrate its responsibility on a large scale state in the name of building a community of shared destiny for mankind.
Question: What are the prospects for Bulgarian-Chinese relations and cooperation, as well as the possibilities for increasing Chinese investments in the country, in the context of the rapid introduction and use of modern technologies and modernization?
Dong Xiaojun: In recent years, the exchange between China and Bulgaria has become more and more close, the forms of economic cooperation are constantly enriched, and the areas are becoming more and more, so in general, our economic and trade relations show a trend of steady growth. From 2015 to 2022, our annual trade has increased from $1.79 billion to $4.12 billion, a growth of 130%. At the online meeting between the heads of state of China and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe in February 2021, Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized our country’s readiness to cooperate with this region so that “we can reach a higher level of common development and mutual benefit as well as working together to build a community of shared destiny for humanity’. Over the next five years, China will import more than $170 billion worth of goods from Central and Eastern Europe, setting goals, direction and providing impetus for deepening our cooperation. I believe that in the future, Chinese-Bulgarian trade and economic cooperation have great potential in the following three areas:
The first is infrastructure connectivity. Bulgaria attaches great importance to the connectivity of road, railway and other infrastructure with neighboring regions, and China has rich experience and leading advantages in this field. China is also actively studying a proposal by the Bulgarian side to speed up the movement of regular cargo flights. In addition, both countries can take advantage of the opportunities offered by the rapid development of the digital and green economy, as well as assist in the development of projects and forms of cooperation in information and communication infrastructure, the construction of big data centers, in eco-technologies, new energies and e-commerce.
The second area is barrier-free trade. The two sides can explore opportunities to further ease visa restrictions, to facilitate visa procedures, to extend the validity of business visas, to ease logistics and customs clearance conditions, and to create more favorable conditions for mutual investment and commercial cooperation. At the same time, I hope that Bulgarian business will take better advantage of platforms such as the China International Import Exhibition and the China and Central and Eastern European Exhibition to expand the export of its well-known and high-quality products to the Chinese market.
The third area is lending. The two countries can improve their cooperation in the financial sector, taking full advantage of the relatively developed banking system in Bulgaria, can explore opportunities to create a more flexible and pragmatic model for investments and financing, to overcome weaknesses in lending to large-scale infrastructure projects projects and support cooperation in major projects such as ports, rail, road infrastructure and airports.
Of course, a necessary condition for the achievement of these goals is the improvement of political communication. I hope that the two countries will deepen the consensus even more, will better coordinate their strategies and planning at the government level, will fully activate the consultation mechanisms such as the Joint Commission for Bulgarian-Chinese Economic Cooperation, as well as at the level of associations and organizations. so as to create an enabling environment for bilateral investment and trade. I believe that with the joint efforts of our countries, the economic and trade cooperation between China and Bulgaria will continue to develop actively, we will raise and improve, as well as bring more content to our strategic partnership.
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