An event to promote the fourth edition of the China-Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) Expo & International Consumer Goods Fair was held here on Monday, aiming to attract more Bulgarian exhibitors.

The expo is scheduled to be held in May 2025 in Ningbo in east China's Zhejiang Province.

Xu Yan, Deputy Mayor of Ningbo, said his city is an international port and an open gateway on the southeastern coast of China, rich in cultural heritage and a deep-rooted tradition of commerce.

Konstantin Botev, head of the International Exhibitions and Conferences department at the Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency (BSMEPA), said between 20 and 30 Bulgarian companies will attend the upcoming edition of the expo. The companies will be from various sectors, including the cosmetics and food industries.

Kong Lingyu, economic and commercial counselor at the Chinese embassy in Bulgaria, said the bilateral economic and trade cooperation has made significant progress in recent years.

From 2015 to 2023, the bilateral trade volume between China and Bulgaria increased from 1.792 billion U.S. dollars to 4.221 billion U.S. dollars. Last year, China-Bulgaria agricultural and food trade increased by 37 percent year-on-year, making Bulgaria China's largest agricultural product trading partner in Central and Eastern Europe.

Kong expressed hope that both sides would make the most of their advantages, expand practical cooperation, and achieve win-win cooperation.

Aleksi Kesyakov, Mayor of Chelopech Municipality, some 70 km east of Sofia, told Xinhua that his municipality intends to participate in the expo in Ningbo next year, for the first time as an exhibitor.