A delegation from the Zhejiang Provincial Bureau of Statistics of China visited the NSI

A delegation from the Zhejiang Provincial Bureau of Statistics of China visited the NSI. The purpose of the visit was to familiarize the guests with the Bulgarian Statistical System, as well as with the organization and activities of the NSI. The event was opened by Assoc. Prof. Atanas Atanasov, PhD, President of the NSI, who welcomed the guests and shared that such meetings are crucial for maintaining and deepening the traditional good cooperation in the field of statistics between the Republic of Bulgaria and the People’s Republic of China. The meeting was also attended by representatives from the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Republic of Bulgaria – KONG Lingyu, Counselor in charge of Commercial Affairs and WANG Chenxi, Attaché for Economic Affairs.

The five-member delegation from China, led by CHEN Guoqiang, Director of the Statistical Design and Management Division, presented the structure and operation of the Chinese statistical system. Special attention was paid to the progress of Chinese statistics in the field of digitalization.

From the NSI, the event was attended by Svilen Kolev, PhD, Deputy President of the NSI, Radoslav Parvanov, Director of the “Business Statistics” Directorate and Lyubomira Dimitrova, state expert in the “Short-term Business Statistics and Transport Statistics” Department, who presented the experience of the NSI in collecting data on short-term business statistics in the industrial and service sectors. Antoaneta Ilkova, Director of the “Multi-Domain Statistics, Methodology and Registers” Directorate introduced the guests to the initiatives of the NSI for the promotion and dissemination of official statistics with a focus on young people. The meeting was also attended by Maria Gochova, Head of the “International Relations and Projects” Department, as well as Mirena Kovacheva and Rumen Antonov, experts from the same Department.

At the end of the one-day visit, the guests proposed signing a Memorandum of Understanding between the National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria and the Zhejiang Provincial Bureau of Statistics, and Assoc. Prof. Atanasov noted that such agreements are an important tool for broadening the international activities of the NSI. It was agreed upon to develop a document for future join work, including new areas not covered in the talks so far.

The current meeting is the third in a row with statisticians from China after the visit of Mr. Kolev in 2024 and the visit of a delegation led by Assoc. Prof. Atanasov to the National Bureau of Statistics of China in Beijing in June this year.