China and Bulgaria established diplomatic relations on 4 October 1949, with Bulgaria being the second country in the world to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. In January 2014, the two countries established a comprehensive friendly cooperative partnership. In July 2019, they established a strategic partnership. The two foreign ministries have consultation mechanisms.

From 2016 to 2019, Premier Li Keqiang held bilateral meetings with Bulgarian Prime Minister Borisov during the Meetings of Heads of Government of China and Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC). In May 2018, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Zaharieva in Buenos Aires during the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting. In July 2019, Bulgarian President Radev paid a state visit to China to attend the 13th Summer Davos Forum, and the two sides issued the "Joint Statement between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Bulgaria on Establishing a Strategic Partnership". In October 2019, President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang, and State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi exchanged congratulatory messages with Bulgarian President Radev, Prime Minister Borisov, and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Zaharieva respectively on the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Bulgaria. In June 2022, Vice Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Zhang Qingli held a video meeting with Bulgarian Deputy Speaker Ivanov. In October 2024, Vice Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Chairman of the Central Committee of the China Zhi Gong Party Jiang Zuojun visited Bulgaria.

In 1985, the two countries established an intergovernmental economic, trade, and science and technology cooperation committee. In 2009, the two sides signed the "Memorandum of Understanding on Economic Cooperation between the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China and the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism of the Republic of Bulgaria". In 2018, the two sides signed the "Memorandum of Understanding on SME Cooperation between the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China and the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Bulgaria". In recent years, economic and trade cooperation between the two countries has steadily improved. In 2023, the bilateral trade volume between China and Bulgaria was US$4.22 billion, increasing 2.7% year-on-year. As of the end of 2022, China's direct investment stock in Bulgaria was US$142 million, and Bulgaria's direct investment in China was US$8.348 million.

Since the China-CEEC Agricultural Cooperation Promotion Federation settled in Bulgaria in 2015, agricultural cooperation between China and Bulgaria has developed robustly. In 2022, the agricultural trade volume between the two countries was ¥2.73 billion, up 64.6% year-on-year.

In the 1950s, the two countries signed the first intergovernmental science and technology cooperation agreement, and the first cultural cooperation agreement. In 2023, the 17th regular meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee on Science and Technology Cooperation was held in Beijing. From 2011 to 2019, the "Happy Spring Festival" event was successfully held in Bulgaria for nine consecutive years. In 2019, the Chinese Culture Center in Sofia was officially open for operation. The China (Ningbo) Culture Day and the "Tradition and Innovation" Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition were held in Bulgaria.

In 1990, the two countries signed an agreement on mutual recognition of diplomas, degrees, and certificates. In 1953, Sofia University established Chinese language majors, and since 2003, it has set up a Chinese proficiency test site. In 2006, Bulgaria's first Confucius Institute was established at Sofia University. In 2012, the second Confucius Institute was established at the University of Veliko Tarnovo. In 2021, Tianjin Agricultural College and Tianjin Economic and Trade School cooperated with Bulgaria's Pleven Agricultural University to establish the Bulgarian Luban Workshop.

Since 2008, the two countries also signed a number of cooperation documents and memoranda in various fields such as good governance, medical science, railway infrastructure, tourism, preventing and combating crime, public health and nuclear energy.

Key Documents:

1. Joint Statement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the People's Republic of Bulgaria (October 1957)

2. Joint Communiqué between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria (May 1996)

3. Joint Statement between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Bulgaria (May 1998)

4. Joint Statement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria (November 2006)

5. Joint Communiqué on Establishing Comprehensive Friendly Cooperative Partnership between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Bulgaria (January 2014)

6. Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria on Jointly Promoting the Construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (November 2015)

7. Joint Communiqué between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria (July 2018)

8. Joint Statement between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Bulgaria on Establishing Strategic Partnership (July 2019)