Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside Bulgaria's Ministry of Defense on Friday night to protest U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and demand that U.S. military aircraft leave Bulgaria.
The protesters carried banners reading "Bulgaria says no to war! We want peace, not death!" and "Yankee, go home!" to voice opposition to what they described as an illegal invasion and to the presence of U.S. military forces in Bulgaria.
"We have gathered here to express our opinion that what the United States has launched is an illegal invasion," said Grigorova, a protester.
Several U.S. military planes have been deployed at Sofia Airport since February. Although the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense has denied that they were linked to U.S. military operations against Iran, saying they were deployed to provide logistical support for NATO operations, some Bulgarians remain concerned that this could drag their country into war.
The U.S. and Israel on Feb. 28 launched strikes against Iran, plunging the war-torn Middle East into a new round of violence. Iran has retaliated with a series of counterattacks against Israel and U.S. targets across the region.
Bulgarians rally against U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran
Bulgarians rally against U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran
China's Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao outlined the key priorities of the 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting, which opened on Friday in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province.
In an interview with CGTN ahead of the two-day meeting, Wang said free trade, digital cooperation and green economy are high on the agenda of the meeting.
"The key areas include advancing regional economic integration and the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, supporting the World Trade Organization (WTO) in strengthening digital cooperation and developing green economy. At present, the international situation is marked by intertwined turbulence and chaos, with intensified geopolitical instability. The rise of unilateralism and protectionism poses serious challenges to the international economic and trade order, disrupting global and Asia-Pacific development. Against this backdrop, all parties have higher expectations for this trade ministers' meeting, hoping that it can build consensus and deliver outcomes," Wang said.
This year marks China's third time hosting the APEC meetings and the 35th anniversary of its membership.
By 2025, China had become the largest trading partner of 13 APEC economies. Trade between China and APEC economies reached 3.7 trillion U.S. dollars, accounting for 57.8 percent of China's total foreign trade.
China has signed 24 free trade agreements or economic and trade arrangements with 31 countries and regions, including 15 APEC economies. In recent years, China has also completed upgrades of free trade agreements with APEC economies such as Singapore and Peru.
The minister said that China has always been a firm supporter and an important contributor to APEC.
"We have actively shared our vast market and development opportunities with all parties. China's door to the world will only open wider and wider. Facing the common challenges, China will continue to fulfill its responsibilities as a major country, further deepen reform, expand high-standard opening-up, and continue to provide new opportunities for the Asia-Pacific region and the world with its new achievements in Chinese modernization," the minister said.
China's Commerce Minister outlines priorities for 32nd APEC trade ministers' meeting
