SOFIA — The 6th China-Central and Eastern Europe High-Level Think Tank Scholars Forum, themed "China-Europe Dialogue: Expanding Synergies and Embracing a Win-Win Future," was held on Monday, bringing together more than 100 experts and scholars from Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Serbia and other countries.

Wang Junwei, director of the Academic and Editorial Committee of the Institute of Party History and Literature of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said in his keynote speech that seeking common ground while preserving differences and pursuing cooperation for mutual benefit are important principles guiding China's approach to international relations and valuable experience in ensuring the steady development of China-Europe relations. These principles will continue to play a guiding role in cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC) in the future, he said.

In her welcome remarks, Chinese Ambassador to Bulgaria Dai Qingli said that as long as China and Europe uphold mutual respect and engage in equal-footed consultations, both sides will be able to find solutions to problems and continuously expand the scope for mutually beneficial cooperation.

Nataliya Kiselova, former president of the National Assembly of Bulgaria, said in her remarks that the fifth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC demonstrated the CPC leadership's courage to uphold the truth and curb abuses of power, and its determination to continue consolidating its position as the core of leadership in Chinese society.

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Wu Haitao, vice president of the China Public Diplomacy Association, said that think-tank exchanges serve as an important channel for continuously strengthening the public-opinion foundation of China-Europe friendship.

Participants held in-depth discussions on China's 15th Five-Year Plan, the four major global initiatives, global governance, and the prospects and vision for China-EU relations.

The inaugural forum was held in 2016. Since then, it has played an active role in facilitating exchanges of ideas and building consensus among think-tank scholars from China and CEEC.

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This year's forum was jointly organized by the Scientific Research Planning Department of the Institute of Party History and Literature of the CPC Central Committee, the Chinese Embassy in Bulgaria, the China Public Diplomacy Association, the Bulgaria National Association for the Belt and Road, and Sofia University.