An investment forum bringing together Chinese and Bulgarian businesses is due on Monday, ahead of the Fourth China-CEE summit in Shanzhou on November 25-27.

The bilateral business event will be held in Shanghai and will involve small and medium enterprises working in agriculture, tourism, cosmetics, and winemaking, the Bulgarian National Radio has said.

Thirty-six Bulgarian companies are attending the forum in Shanghai, one the country's leading manufacturing centers. InvestBulgaria Agency, the country's investment promotion body, has invited Chinese businesses from the respective sectors to pave the way for possible partnerships.

Private bTV station reports that part of the event's agenda will be the idea to build a high-speed rail system connecting Sofia and Beijing.

Organized on the sidelines of the fourth summit meeting of Chinese and Central and Eastern European (CEE) leaders, the event also comes at a time when Sofia, along with other countries in the region, is exploring options to offer joint tourists packages that include Bulgaria and other smaller countries to which there are no direct flights from China.

Boyko Borisov, the Bulgarian PM, is on a five-day visit to the world's second-largest economy with seven of his ministers as part of the delegation.