On March 17 th 2014, a delegation from the International Department of the Communist Party of China lead by Ambassador Zhou Li, Vice Minister, visited CSD. The delegation also included:

Mr. Wei Jing Hua, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Sofia, Ms. Bao Hong, Deputy Director of the Administrative Office of the East European and Central Asian Affairs of IDCPC, Mr. Zhao Lei, Deputy Director-General of the East European and Central Asian Affairs of IDCPC, Mr. Zhao Xue Lin, First Secretary of the Balkan Affairs Department of IDCPC, Mr. Ma Shi Quan, Chief of the Political Section at the Chinese Embassy, Mr. Zhen Wang Da, Press Officer at the Chinese Embassy, Mr. Niu Li Qiang, Third Secretary at the Embassy and Mr. Feng Yue, Third Secretary of the General Office of IDCPC.

Dr. Ognian Shentov, CSD Chairman, welcomed the Chinese guests and pointed out that the Center has previously been visited by other representatives of Chinese institutions and academic organizations to share the Bulgarian experience in institutional reforms, and above all, in countering administrative and political corruption.

Ambassador Zhou Li emphasized that there is a traditional economic and political cooperation between the two countries and defined Bulgaria as a longtime friend of China with amazing culture, steadily developing economy and a significant role in both EU and Southeastern Europe. He also estimated highly the support provided by Bulgaria in relation to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Chinese state. Ambassador Li also brought notice to the effective steps outlined by the 18 th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party and the Third Plenary Session in November, 2013 directed at reforming the economic system, streamlining the capacity for governing the country, developing the communication networks between Europe and Asia and establishing an economic belt “The Way of Silk” meant to stimulate the international economic cooperation.

Among the topics raised in the ensuing discussion was the latest reform in the area of anticorruption in China. It was noted that the Center for the Study of Democracy has a longstanding experience and is actively involved in the policy making process for counteracting corruption on both national and international level. Among the good practices in this area is the CSD-developed Corruption Monitoring System, a technological instrument aimed at measuring the levels of administrative corruption, which is already being applied in other countries from Europe and Asia.

Mr. Ruslan Stefanov, Director of the Economic Program at CSD, highlighted the strategic role of the state for the proper functioning of the markets and referred to CSD’s experience in the field of anticorruption and good governance. Mr. Stefanov observed that the initiation of a dialogue between Bulgaria and China in the European context might prove an interesting direction for future collaboration.

In the continuing discussion, it was stated that even though a universal phenomenon, corruption in China has its own specifics closely linked to the issue of authority. At present, the fight with corruption has entered into a vital stage resulting from the formation of CPC anti-corruption committees. Both sides agreed that counteracting political corruption entails state commitment at the highest level.