Bulgarian cities interested in doing business with China

SOFIA -- Bulgarian municipalities are interested in doing business with Chinese enterprises, especially in infrastructure construction, says a former ambassador to China.

George Peichinov made the remarks after local chiefs from 16 Central and Eastern European countries met their Chinese counterparts in the Chinese city of Chongqing last week to discuss cooperation.

The forum was held under the initiative announced last year in Warsaw by then Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao that China had set up a $10 billion line of credit to support cooperation projects with these countries.

According to the former ambassador, representatives from the Bulgarian municipalities of Sofia, Plovdiv, Pleven and Pernik attended the meeting.

"My impression of the forum is that urban infrastructure projects, including water supply, water treatment and waste processing, are the most promising for the municipalities," Peichinov said in an interview with Xinhua.

There were many things that could be done in urban infrastructure and the Chinese were interested in investing, he noted.

The municipalities were also eager to facilitate transport development with the help of Chinese electric buses, he said, adding that most of them also wanted to set up industrial zones for Chinese companies.

Dontcho Barbalov, deputy mayor of Sofia, who participated in the forum in Chongqing, told Xinhua that such fields as education and culture also have potential for cooperation.