SOFIA -- Bulgarian Vice President Iliana Iotova said here on Oct 1 that her country has learned from China's experience in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, and is grateful for the help from China.

Iotova made the remarks during the online celebration of the 71st anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Bulgaria.

The global pandemic has challenged relations between peoples, countries and continents, Iotova said.

"We rely heavily on the experience of China," Iotova said.

"We are infinitely grateful for the help you have given to the whole of Europe, including to our country Bulgaria," she said.

"If we want to find one key word for 2020, it will certainly be the epidemic of the new coronavirus," Chinese Ambassador to Bulgaria Dong Xiaojun said.

Under the leadership of the party and the government, the Chinese people have united and fought the epidemic and effectively contained it, Dong said.

In the second quarter of this year, China's GDP grew by 3.2 percent on an annual basis, making it the world's first major economy to resume positive growth, he added.