SOFIA, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Bilateral trade between Bulgaria and China amounted to 4.039 billion BGN (some 2.34 billion U.S. dollars) in 2018, a 15.4 percent increase year-on-year, official Bulgarian statistics revealed on Tuesday.

According preliminary data of the country's National Statistical Institute (NSI), Bulgaria's exports to China amounted to 1.463 billion BGN last year, while in 2017 the figure stood at 1.329 billion BGN.

Meanwhile, Bulgaria's imports from China reached 2.576 billion BGN in 2018, an 18.6 percent increase year-on-year, the figures revealed.

Statistics also showed that in 2018, China was Bulgaria's second largest export partner outside the European Union (EU) and third largest non-EU import partner.

In 2018, the exports of goods from Bulgaria to non-EU countries decreased by 12.5 percent in comparison with the previous year to 17.551 billion BGN, the NSI said, while imports of goods to Bulgaria from non-EU countries increased by 7.4 percent year-on-year to 23.012 billion BGN. (1 U.S. dollar = 1.73 BGN)