SUZHOU

Japanese authorities today urged tens of thousands of residents in Ishikawa Prefecture (central) to evacuate their homes urgently due to flooding following heavy rainfall.

About 30,000 residents of the towns of Uajima and Suzhou were ordered to evacuate the area immediately, local officials explained.

"Support Chinese chips, join the enterprise of the century" read an upbeat slogan at a recent semiconductor industry fair in Shanghai, where the mood was defiant despite the intense pressure placed on the sector by geopolitical tensions.

Bulgaria and China pledged on Thursday to deepen cooperation in the areas of infrastructure, nuclear power, agriculture and tourism.

This became clear after a meeting between Bulgarian Prime Minister and his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang.

At a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang, Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said that Bulgaria could have an important role in improving the connectivity between Europe and China.

Borisov identified China as Bulgaria's primary partner in Asia and noted the broad range of opportunities to expand and deepen the cooperation between the two countries.

The 4th annual Economic and Trade Forum between China and 16 countries of Central and Eastern Europe started on Tuesday in China's eastern coastal city of Suzhou.

State-owned Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) have signed a memorandum of understanding that aims to encourage future cooperation in cross-border funding, bilateral loans, investments and trade, the BDB said on Wednesday.

Bulgarian Economy Minister Bozhidar Lukarski presented the industrial zones around Sofia and Plovdiv to Chinese investors.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has said it would be "an honour" for his country to host a meeting of mayors from China and Central and Eastern European (CEE) states.

Borisov has extended the invitation during the Fourth China-CEE Summit currently taking place in the city of Suzhou, China.

Chinese entrepreneurs will build a large forage factory in northeastern Bulgaria.

The factory, which will be located in the breadbasket of Bulgaria - the region of Dobrudja, will process forage plants for export.

This was announced by Bulgarian Agriculture Minister Desislava Taneva after business meetings at the international economic forum in the Chinese city of Suzhou.

Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic began a three-day visit to China on Tuesday by touring the industrial park in the city of Suzhou and bus maker Higer Bus.

The Suzhou Industrial Park was founded on February 26, 1994, when China and Singapore signed the agreement on the joint development of this administrative region.