On October 19, 2026 local time, Bulgarian President Iliana Iotova met with Wang Yi, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs, in Sofia.
Iotova asked Wang Yi to convey her sincere greetings to the President Xi Jinping, stating that Bulgaria and China have long enjoyed friendly relations and that Bulgaria was the second country to recognize New China. In 2019, the two countries established a strategic partnership, and bilateral exchanges have continued to develop on the basis of equality and mutual benefit. Bulgaria admires China's remarkable achievements in artificial intelligence, scientific and technological innovation, environmental protection, and the improvement of people's living standards. Bulgaria will continue to pursue the one-China policy. Last October, she attended the Global Leaders' Meeting on Women in China and reached broad consensus with the Chinese side on cooperation for the next stage. Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit is a good opportunity to deepen Bulgaria-China relations and will help enhance communication and coordination, and advance future cooperation. The two sides are intensifying preparations for high-level exchanges next year and look forward to bringing bilateral relations to a new level. Bulgaria's new government has a strong willingness to accelerate cooperation with China, and such cooperation enjoys broad public support. Bulgaria looks forward to launching direct flights with China as soon as possible, deepening economic and trade cooperation, and facilitating personnel and cultural exchanges between the two countries. Bulgaria hopes to expand cooperation in agriculture, science and technology, education, and new energy. Bulgaria shares China's views on the political settlement of conflicts and disputes, hopes that China will continue to play an important role in safeguarding world peace, and is ready to strengthen coordination with China in this regard.
Wang Yi conveyed President Xi Jinping’s cordial greetings to President Jotova and commended her, as an old friend of China, for personally promoting the development of bilateral relations and advancing people-to-people and cultural exchanges as well as friendly ties between the two peoples. Bulgaria was among the first countries to recognize the People’s Republic of China, and the two countries have a solid political foundation, with mutual trust growing steadily. Although the two countries differ in history, culture, and social systems, they have continued to understand, appreciate, respect, and support each other, thereby promoting the steady and sound development of bilateral relations and bringing benefits to the people of both countries. China respects Bulgaria’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity, supports Bulgaria’s efforts to achieve faster development and revitalization, and welcomes Bulgaria’s important role in the international stage. China hopes that the Bulgarian side will continue to understand and support China’s legitimate stance on safeguarding of its core interests, so as to further cement the political foundation of bilateral relations.
Wang Yi stated that China-Bulgaria cooperation has a solid foundation, meets practical needs, and has promising prospects and potential. Bulgaria's new government has demonstrated its ambition to accelerate the development of relations with China, and China is also ready to strengthen communication and expand cooperation with Bulgaria to help both side accelerate development and revitalization. Relations between states are fundamentally about interactions between people. The two sides should enhance people-to-people and cultural exchanges and mutual understanding, consolidate the public and social foundation of bilateral relations, and provide greater impetus for deepening mutually beneficial cooperation. The world today is fraught with chaos and instability, and peace and development face unprecedented challenges. China is ready to strengthen multilateral coordination with Bulgaria, bridge differences through dialogue, transcend estrangement through trust, overcome challenges through action, jointly uphold multilateralism, and build a community with a shared future for mankind.
During the visit, Wang Yi also met with Bulgarian Prime Minister Radev and Deputy Prime Minister A Poulev, held talks with Bulgarian Foreign Minister Petrova, and jointly met the press with her.