16 + 1 Summit Meeting

On the last day of the Seventh annual Central Eastern Europe-China Summit, better known as “16 + 1” Summit, which took place in Sofia on 6 and 7 July, the Cluster Sofia Knowledge City was visited by Mr. Stanley Wei, Chairman & Managing Director, and Ian Jiang - Director International Cooperation from the Shanghai-based company Oneness International Group Limited.

The company represents the interests of high-level investors and fund managers from Hong Kong and the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

Prior to this meeting the guests from China and the cluster representatives prof. Dr. Rumen Nikolov – Vice Chairmen of the Management Board and Dimitar Hristov - Managing Director were invited by prof. Dr. K. Kostadinov, special adviser at the Minister, to take a part in a meeting at the Ministry of Science and Education.

All the participants in these two consecutive meetings were deeply inspired during the discussions. They were excited with the knowledge city concept and the smart city initiatives of the cluster and expressed their beliefs that many synergies to work together exist. During the meeting Mr. Stanley Wei stated that they believed in the three key pillars of values shaping the core foundations for sustainable economic growth: 

• Industry Integration - Integration and optimization of industrial resources, driven by innovation, to accelerate the growth and development of the regional economy;
• Urban Management - Integrating the essence of Chinese and Western cultures, combined with innovation to optimize the sustainability of urban ecosystems;
• Financial Innovation - Transferring advanced financial experiences and capital resources from the world, adapting it to the local economy, to create mutually beneficial collaborations. 

Mr. Stanley Wei remarked: “Our visions and values are in line with the 7th Summit of Heads of Government of CEEC and China, we believe that together we are deepening open and pragmatic cooperation for inclusive prosperity”. Both parties agreed with Mr. Wei’s concept that although Bulgaria’s economy is small, Bulgaria could create a suitable Eastern Hub for cooperation with China in this part of Europe and in Europe as a whole.

Dimitar Hristov also outlined “I personally believe that in Bulgaria there is a serious market for smart technologies, innovation spaces, and infrastructure, which will accelerate the transformation process of the country and mainly Sofia into a knowledge economy. At the heart of this are education, science, and culture, and this is the reason for creating the Cluster Sofia Knowledge City. I have always believed that infrastructure investments are most successful in places where smart people live because they create a climate for attracting talent, increase the regional potential to generate innovations, and in result create new needs that have to be met with more and more investments”.

The participants in the meeting were also impressed by Mr. Wei’s statement that both Bulgaria and China are still underdeveloped countries and have to catch up with the West. Putting the two sides into one group is proof of the systemic thinking of the new generation of China’s business leaders. Yes, growth and especially smart growth is what should be the goal for both sides, although forecasts show that China will become the world's largest economy in a few years' time. But neither the scale of economics nor the shine of financial megapolises such as Hong Kong or Shanghai is the most important indicators for growth. ‘More importantly’, said prof. Dr. Kostadinov, ‘is the quality of life of every citizen in our countries, and this can only be achieved on the basis of smart growth’.
The Bulgarian participants were surprised by the fact that Mr. Wei and Mr. Ian were aware of Bulgaria's difficulties in the transition period and that neither the size of human resources nor the natural resources of Bulgaria were favorable for a quick process. Modernization is underway, but usually, changes in old societies are slower and expensive. Building new and modern economies based on the latest building technologies is the easiest way compared to making step by step changes, they mentioned.

At the end of the meeting, the Bulgarian participants gave a draft memorandum of understanding to the quests from China and both parties agreed to follow up and sign the MoU next months.