In an interview for Svobodna Tochka, Dr. Rumena Filipova discussed the push to deepen economic relations between Bulgaria and China and what it means for Bulgaria. She argued that there are so far no positive examples of benefits from Chinese projects, and called for full public transparency over any agreements concluded with the Chinese side.
The discussion focused on several key issues:
- the growing desire to deepen Bulgarian-Chinese economic relations, which is taking place with government support and reflects Beijing’s wish for an economic presence in Bulgaria;
- China’s interest in production capacity in Europe, with Bulgaria seen as a “gateway to Europe”;
- the earlier Great Wall–Litex Motors venture, in which most of the investment came from the Bulgarian side and cars were only assembled in Bulgaria, so the expected added value for Bulgarian industry did not materialize;
- the absence so far of positive examples of benefits from Chinese projects, in Bulgaria and elsewhere, set against the growing body of research, data and facts on their negative consequences, particularly in infrastructure and industry; and
- the risk posed by the frequent opacity of agreements with China, especially when they form part of the Chinese Communist Party’s strategic goals, and her call for contracts and all their clauses to be fully accessible to the public, with clear economic analyses of their contribution to the local economy before any agreements are signed.