Dear Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Secretary-General of the Secretariat for Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries Mr. Wang Chao,

Dear Vice President of Chinese Academy of Social Science and Executive Vice-President of 16+1 Think Tanks Network Mr. Cai Fang,

Dear Colleagues, Dear Scholars, Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,  

Today we are together again at the Chinese Academy of Social Science, the premier academic organization and comprehensive research center of China in the fields of philosophy and social sciences, for the opening ceremony of the Fourth High-Level Think Tanks Symposium. A symposium that is going to outline the China-CEEC Cooperation prospects for the next five years. 

First of all, I would like to congratulate the Chinese Academy of Social Science and the whole 16+1 Think Tanks Network for the persistent efforts and excellent results in the people-to-people contacts within the 16+1 cooperation. In 2017 we witnessed active exchanges between academic circles of China and Central and Eastern European Countries, honest endeavors to improve our cooperation and to move forward in all mutually beneficial areas. 

Good examples for our common aspirations had been the Symposium of China and Central and Eastern European scholars held in CASS in June 2017 on the topic “How the 16+1 Cooperation Promotes the ‘Belt and Road’ Initiative” and the conference “Black Sea Regional Dimension of ‘Belt and Road’ Initiative” jointly organized by the Diplomatic Institute to the Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Chinese Academy of Social Science and the 16+1 Think Tanks Network in Sofia in September 2017.

The year of 2017 has been marked by remarkable events as the first Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in Beijing and the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China that had set the grant plan for the future of China.

2018 will be the 40^th anniversary of China’s opening up and the future trajectory of this process had been outlined at the 19^th CPC Congress that announced policies to promote high-standard liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment, significant ease of market access, further opening of the service sector and the protection of legitimate rights and interests of foreign investors, as well as equal treatment of all businesses registered in China.    

Bulgaria is ready to work with China towards achieving these goals and the forthcoming Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2018 will be very much instrumental in that sense. A key priority for our Presidency are the Western Balkans, where Bulgaria will work to promote peace, security and prosperity; to enhance regional cooperation and to develop good neighborly relations; to enhance links with the EU Single Market and to improve connectivity with the EU Digital Single Market. Topics that are as well an integral part of our cooperation in the 16+1. In 2018 my country will be the focal point of the cooperation between the European Union, China and the Western Balkans.  

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, together we are all interested and engaged in the China-CEEC Cooperation in different capacity. The initiative is already a very complex and multi-layered task, in which the scholars of the 16+1 Think Tanks Network are privileged to be the intellectual force that is leading all of us towards better understanding of each other, faster and more secure connectivity, fruitful exchanges and prosperity of our people. That is why the outcomes of today’s Fourth High-Level Think Tanks Symposium are rather important and I wish to the organizers and all participants in the event a very successful and productive work for the benefit of China-CEEC Cooperation.

Thank you!