On 21 May 2025, Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Zafirov held a meeting in Shanghai with the city’s Mayor, Gong Zheng.

During the meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister expressed his admiration for Shanghai’s achievements. He highlighted the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Bulgaria and China celebrated in 2024, the Sister Cities Agreement signed between Sofia and Shanghai in 2016, and the elevation of Bulgarian-Chinese relations to a strategic partnership in 2019. Deputy Prime Minister Zafirov commended the active parliamentary exchanges in recent years and expressed a desire to further expand and deepen the dialogue.

Deputy Prime Minister Zafirov emphasized Bulgaria’s commitment to balancing bilateral trade and increasing Bulgarian exports to China, as well as ensuring easier access for Bulgarian products and services to the Chinese market. He noted Bulgaria’s interest in attracting Chinese investments and further developing tourism ties. Another key priority for Bulgaria is the establishment of a direct flight route to China, alongside the development of railway and road transport links between the two countries. He acknowledged the potential for further cooperation in logistics, trade, investments, high technology, innovation, agriculture, tourism, and education.

For his part, Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng provided an overview of the city’s economic and social development, aimed at building an internationally significant metropolis. Shanghai is focused on strengthening its position as a global hub in five areas, including: International Economic Center – in 2024, the city’s GDP reached 5.4 trillion yuan (approx. USD 750 billion); International Financial Center – on par with Hong Kong; International Trade Center – in 2024, Shanghai’s total foreign trade volume amounted to 4.27 trillion yuan; International Transport Hub – for the 15th consecutive year, Shanghai Port ranked first globally in cargo throughput (51.5 million TEUs in 2024); International Sci-Tech Innovation Center – 4.4% of Shanghai’s GDP is invested in R&D, with 11% allocated to fundamental research. For the second year in a row, Shanghai ranked 5th in the World Intellectual Property Organization’s global ranking of top technology clusters.

Mayor Gong Zheng also praised the long-standing friendship between Bulgaria and China and the successful cooperation between the sister cities of Sofia and Shanghai in trade, culture, and urban development.

Both sides expressed a shared commitment to further strengthening Bulgaria-China relations at both national and local levels.

From Bulgarian side the meeting was also attended by the Minister of Environment and Water Manol Genov, Bulgarian Ambassador to China Andrey Tehov, and Consul General in Shanghai Vladislav Spasov. Mayor Gong Zheng was accompanied by Chief Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Government Ma Chunlei, Director of the Shanghai Foreign Affairs Office Ms. Ma Yinghuai, and her Deputy Ms. Ye Liang.