SOFIA -- The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Beijing Sub-Council (CCPIT Beijing) on Tuesday signed a cooperation agreement, aiming to boost bilateral ties.

According to the agreement, signed during a Bulgaria-China business forum, both parties shall keep constant and close contacts with each other, provide each other with information with regard to trade, technical transfer and economic cooperation, and exchange publications.

BCCI and CCPIT Beijing shall also recommend and introduce to each other opportunities for cooperation or partners for trade and investment.

They will encourage and assist their members' enterprises to cooperate with counterparts of the other side in the form of joint ventures and other forms, according to the document.

Addressing an event attended by Chinese enterprises and potential Bulgarian partners, vice president of CCPIT Beijing Liu Yang said he hoped the agreement would provide a new beginning for business between Sofia and Beijing.

Agriculture and real estate were among the areas for potential cooperation, Liu added.

BCCI's president Tsvetan Simeonov said the agreement was the first step towards a long journey together. He added agriculture and real estate in Bulgaria were open to Chinese investment, and that the two sides would also find other sectors for mutually beneficial cooperation.

According to the Bulgarian National Statistical Institute, China is Bulgaria's third largest export and import partner outside the European Union in 2014, with export and import figures reaching 1.043 billion BGN ($584 million) and 1.691 billion BGN respectively.