Bulgarian President Rossen Plevneliev has awarded the Stara Planina order, 1st class, to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to Bulgaria Wei Jinghua. The diplomat received the order for his great contribution to the development of Bulgarian-Chinese relations. Bilateral trade and economic cooperation between the countries have marked progress, the Bulgarian head of state said during the official ceremony. In November 2015 the two countries signed a memorandum to jointly promote the "Silk Road Economic Belt " and the "21st Century Maritime Silk Route.” Thanks to Ambassador Wei links between educational institutions in Bulgaria and China have strengthened. China has also approved additional scholarships for Bulgarian students in Chinese universities