From October 27 to 30, 2024, Jiang Jiang, Vice President of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), led a delegation to Bulgaria at the invitation of the Bulgaria National Association for the Belt and Road. During the visit, Jiang attended the China-Bulgaria Subnational Cooperation and Exchange Meeting and met with prominent Bulgarian figures, including Petar Stoyanov, former President of the Republic of Bulgaria; Svetlan Stoev, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria; Iskra Doumkova, Secretary-General of the Federation for Bulgarian-Chinese Friendship; Zahari Zahariev, Chairman of the Bulgaria National Association for the Belt and Road; Blagomir Kotsev, Mayor of Varna; Velin Paskov, Chairman of the Bulgarian-China Society-Varna; and Roumen Novakov, President of the "Friends of China" Association in Targovishte. Chinese Ambassador to Bulgaria Dai Qingli accompanied Jiang during the meetings.

Jiang noted that Bulgaria is the second country in the world to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. Over the past decades, the two countries have built a strong, traditional friendship. In recent years, under the strategic guidance of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, the bilateral relationship has been elevated to a strategic partnership. The mutual political trust has deepened, economic and trade cooperation has flourished, and people-to-people exchanges have become increasingly close. As an association engaged in people-to-people diplomacy, the CPAFFC cherishes the traditional friendly relations with Bulgaria and is willing to work with people from all sectors of society in Bulgaria to strengthen exchanges, build consensus, contribute more strength at the subnational and people-to-people levels to the development of China-Bulgaria relations, and jointly write a new chapter of mutually beneficial cooperation.

Bulgarian representatives praised the remarkable progress in China-Bulgaria relations over the 75 years since diplomatic ties were established in 1949. They emphasized the critical role of people-to-people exchanges and subnational cooperation in advancing the bilateral relations and expressed their readiness to collaborate with the CPAFFC to deepen exchanges and cooperation across all sectors, injecting fresh momentum into the continuous development of the China-Bulgaria strategic partnership.

In his speech at the China-Bulgaria subnational cooperation and exchange meeting, Jiang pointed out that the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has made systematic deployments for further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization and that China's development will provide a broader space for China-Bulgaria cooperation. Sub-national exchanges, an integral part of China-Bulgaria cooperation, provide strong support for the development of bilateral relations. Jiang encouraged the localities of the two countries to work together to bolster people-to-people exchanges, enhance mutual understanding, deepen practical cooperation and realize common development, reinforce people-to-people exchanges and foster closer people-to-people ties, and promote friendship among youth, paving the way for a bright future.

The exchange meeting was attended by representatives of local governments and businesspeople from 17 provinces and cities in China and Bulgaria, both physically and virtually. Participants shared insights into their respective development priorities and unique strengths, engaging in in-depth discussions on aligning development strategies and expanding cooperation in all fields.