During July 5-8, 2018, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited Bulgaria and attended the seventh leaders' meeting of China-Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) (“16+1”) held in Sofia.

At the meeting, Premier Li stressed that China will continue to expand the imports of meat products, dairy products, honey, grape wine and other quality agricultural products from CEECs, and both sides respectively signed Protocol of Phytosanitory Requirements for the Export of Peeled Sunflower Seeds from Bulgaria to China Between the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry of the Republic of Bulgaria, Memorandum of Understanding Between the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China and the Ministry of Agriculture of Czech Republic on Cooperation of Safety Assurance in Import and Export of Food Products, Protocol Between the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Republic of Poland on Quarantine and Health Requirements for Horses to be Exported from the Republic of Poland to the People’s Republic of China, Memorandum of Understanding on Quarantine and Health Requirements for Ornamental Birds to be Exported from Latvia to China Between the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China and the Food and Veterinary Service of the Republic of Latvia and Memorandum of Understanding Between the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China and Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Latvia on Cooperation of Safety Assurance in Import and Export of Food Products.

The CEECs are rich in distinctive agricultural products. Along with the implementation of “Belt and Road” Initiative, the CEECs have met important development opportunities. By following the central government policies, the GACC is actively strengthening cooperation with relevant CEEC authorities in the field of animal/plant quarantine and food safety, facilitating the quarantine access of quality food and agricultural products from CEECs on the basis of risk control, so as to contribute to the “16+1 cooperation” and “Belt and Road” Initiative implementation.

The mechanism of bilateral cooperation in inspection and quarantine is conducive to risk prevention and trade facilitation through information exchange and technological cooperation. Among the imports to China, the Bulgarian sunflower seeds are ideal ingredients for producing high-quality vegetable oil; the import of Polish breeding horses can help with the development of China's horse industry; with no animal epidemics such as highly pathogenic avian influenza found in Latvia, the import of ornamental birds from Latvia can well satisfy domestic demands.