Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boiko Borisov met Tuesday afternoon the visiting Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister General Liang Guanglie in Sofia, capital of Bulgaria.

General Liang arrived Tuesday for a four-day official visit to Bulgaria on the invitation of Bulgaria's Defense Minister, Nikolay Mladenov. This is his first trip to Bulgaria and the last leg of his three-nation tour to Europe.

During the meeting, Borisov said that his new government highly appraises the Sino-Bulgarian relations, attaches great importance to bilateral military cooperation, satisfied with the level and status quo of military cooperation between the two countries.

The PM expressed his hope that both sides will continue efforts in the existing good cooperation on the basis of continuing to tap the potential for cooperation, expand the scope of military exchanges, so that military relations in the new historical conditions be further developed.

Borisov also stressed that the Bulgarian government will unswervingly uphold the one-China policy.

Liang thanked Bulgaria's support on the issues concerning China's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Although the international situation has undergone great changes, and two countries' domestic situation has undergone profound changes, but China and Bulgaria have always maintained friendly cooperation, underlined Liang.

Liang said China values the relations between the two countries and the two armies, and is willing to take the 60th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relationships as an opportunity to summarize the past and plan for the future, make joint efforts to bring the bilateral relations to a new level.

Chinese ambassador to Bulgaria Zhang Wanxue, and Liang's major entourage took part in the meeting.

(Xinhua News Agency September 9, 2009)