Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi will visit Bulgaria, China's foreign ministry said.

He last visited Bulgaria as foreign minister in 2015.

His tour starts in Baku, where the seventh summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia takes place on 15 October. Wang, a member of the Politburo, will attend as a special envoy of President Xi Jinping.

He will then visit Croatia, Montenegro and Bulgaria, and the tour runs until 20 October. In each country he will meet the foreign minister and hold detailed talks with the leaders.

Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a press conference that Beijing hopes to start a full dialogue with all countries at the Baku meeting. She said China will back multilateralism and work for better governance in Asia.

"As the international and regional situation grows more complex and unstable, Asian countries have a stronger wish to keep peace and calm and to boost economic growth," she added.

Mao called Croatia, Montenegro and Bulgaria important partners of China in Southeast Europe. Beijing works with them on trade, investment, tourism and infrastructure.

The minister's route follows the Middle Corridor, also known as the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route. The corridor runs from China through Kazakhstan and the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan, then through Georgia and Turkey. It bypasses Russia and links China with European markets.

Countries along the route also take part in China's Belt and Road Initiative, a global trade and infrastructure scheme centred on China.