Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) meets with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province, July 1, 2019. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)

DALIAN, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Monday met with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev on the sidelines of the 13th Summer Davos Forum, calling on both sides to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation and advance bilateral ties.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Bulgaria, and bilateral ties have always maintained sound and stable development despite the changing international situation, Li said.

China stands ready to deepen traditional friendship, advance mutually beneficial cooperation, strengthen people-to-people exchanges, so as to further lift bilateral ties to a higher level, he said.

Li called on the two sides to strengthen the alignment of development strategies, and step up cooperation on such areas as trade, investment, agriculture and technology based on the principle of two-way opening-up.

China stands ready to work with Bulgaria to continue to strengthen exchanges and cooperation under the China-EU and the China-Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) frameworks, Li said.

He also pledged to speed up the follow-up work of the Global Partnership Center of CEECs and China, which was launched in April this year, and promote economic, trade and investment cooperation between China and CEECs, so as to safeguard multilateralism and free trade.

Hailing China as a key cooperative partner of Bulgaria, Radev said his country stands ready to expand cooperation with China in such areas as trade, investment, science and technology, and people-to-people exchanges.

He also expressed hopes that direct flights between the two countries would be launched at an early date, adding that Bulgaria is willing to actively participate in the China-CEEC cooperation.