A Chinese provincial government delegation is visiting Bulgaria to study investment opportunities offered by the EU member state, the Economy Ministry in Sofia announced on Wednesday.

The delegation comprising local government officials from the city of Qingdao, in Shandong province in eastern China, and representatives of Qingdao Free Trade Zone met with Bulgaria’s Economy Minister Bozhidar Lukarski.

“It would be only natural for potential Chinese investment in Europe to be implemented through Bulgaria which traditionally has the best relations with China among all EU member states,” Lukarski said during the meeting, according to a statement released by the ministry.

The Chinese delegation will visit the Euro-Chinese Economic Development Zone, which is part of Trakia Economic Zone, in southern Bulgaria, and will study the opportunities offered by Plovdiv Airport nearby as well as the Black Sea ports of Varna and Burgas.

China’s central government has tasked Qingdao Free Trade Zone with implementing the so-called Silk Road Strategy – investing overseas, primarily in Central and Eastern Europe, according to the statement.

Established in 1992, the Qingdao Free Trade Zone is one of the 15 free trade zones in China and the only one in Shandong province and the Yellow River region. A series of preferential policies are in force in the zone, including tax exemption and bonded warehousing. The main commercial and business interests operating in the zone include international logistics, international trade, export processing, bonded warehousing and commodities exhibition, according to china.org.cn.