Interview: Bulgaria can play more active role in deepening China-CEE, EU ties: researcher

SOFIA, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Bulgaria can play a more active role in the deepening of China's ties with Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries and the European Union (EU), a researcher said here on Tuesday.

Evgeniy Kandilarov, director of one of the three units of the National Political Institute, the think tank of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), made the remarks to Xinhua a day after it was announced that in 2018 Bulgaria would host the next meeting of the leaders of China and the CEE countries under the 16+1 cooperation mechanism.

Kandilarov hoped hosting the summit would enable Bulgaria to be a more active participant in the 16+1 mechanism, and initiate projects and opportunities with regional significance.

This cooperation would be beneficial for the EU itself, for countries on its periphery like Bulgaria, and for EU relations not only with China, but also with other countries along the Silk Road, he said.

Recently, the EU much more seriously analyzed the Belt and Road Initiative and the 16+1 mechanism, and they "became part of the EU-China dialogue, which is a very positive sign," Kandilarov said.

However, the EU and Bulgaria as an EU member need to have a much clearer vision to know what the prospects are, he said.

Bulgaria could play an important role to help the EU to have a much clearer vision of the benefits of cooperation with China, he said.

Accordingly, Europe should be actively involved in the design, negotiations and everything else related to the Belt and Road Initiative, said Kandilarov, who at the end of this week will represent BSP at the high-level political dialogue conference between the Communist Party of China (CPC) and political parties from other countries.

The opportunity to participate in this forum in Beijing in the next few days would enable his party to elevate relations with the CPC to even higher level, said Kandilarov, who is head of the Center for Political Education at the National Political Institute.

The leadership of the BSP has repeatedly, especially in recent years, expressed support for the Chinese leadership and welcomed the re-election of Xi Jinping as General Secretary of the CPC, Kandilarov said.

According to Kandilarov, since 2012, President Xi has implemented "a new model of globalization" with new principles of regional cooperation and equality, and opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation. Enditem