Chinese President Xi Jinping met with the Serbian president on Wednesday, and both sides expressed optimism that the visit would further promote “ironclad” friendly relations between China and the Balkans.
President Xi arrived in Serbia on Tuesday night to a warm welcome from France, a high-stakes state visit amid trade tensions and Russia’s war with Ukraine.
On Wednesday, thousands of people from all over Serbia chanted “China-Serbia” and waved flags to attend a welcoming ceremony for Xi in front of the Serbian Palace in Belgrade’s new district, where the talks are being held. People came by bus.
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Serbia’s populist President Aleksandar Vučić addressed the crowd from the balcony, calling Xi an “ironclad” friend. The prime minister said his visit to Serbia was “historic” as it paves the way for even closer ties.
“It may not seem like it to many people, but today we are writing history,” Vučić said. “Thank you President Xi. He hasn’t been to Europe for five years, but he chose our little Serbia again.”
“We are witnessing firsthand that the Serbian people view the Chinese as their ironclad best friends,” Xi said at the beginning of Wednesday’s official talks.
A man waves the Chinese and Serbian flags as he awaits the arrival of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic outside the Serbian Palace in Belgrade, Serbia, on May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
“This is truly a two-sided and true friendship…I sincerely admire it and it left a very deep impression on me,” Xi said, according to state-run RTS television.
Mr. Xi will leave for Hungary later on Wednesday. Like Serbia, Hungary is considered one of China’s friendlier partners in Europe.
Signs of pro-China sentiment were evident throughout the Serbian capital. A huge Chinese flag was hoisted on a high-rise building along the road leading from the airport into the city. Small Chinese and Serbian flags could be seen downtown and along the highways.
China has poured billions of dollars into investments and loans to Serbia, particularly in the mining and infrastructure sectors. The two countries signed a strategic partnership agreement in 2016 and a free trade agreement last year.
Serbia, a landlocked country in the heart of the Balkans, is a key country in China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which aims to increase China’s influence in Europe through economic investment. Critics say it could become a Chinese Trojan horse or a gateway to Europe.
Xi also arrived in Serbia on a symbolic day, marking the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade by US military aircraft, killing three Chinese nationals during the NATO air war against Kosovo.
This incident helped forge close political ties between China and Serbia.
Chinese companies operate Serbia’s largest copper mines and steel mills, and are also building numerous roads and highways across Serbia, as well as railways to neighboring Hungary to the north.
“The bilateral relationship has withstood the test of the changing international environment and has become a good example of relations between countries,” Xi said in a statement released by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“Standing at the starting point of a new history, China will cooperate with Serbia to uphold its original aspirations and move forward together to open up new prospects for China-Serbia cooperation,” Xi added. “I am confident that this visit will be fruitful and open a new chapter in China-Serbia relations.”
In 2014, Hungary and Serbia signed an agreement with the Chinese government to modernize the railway between the capital Budapest and Belgrade. It is part of the Belt and Road Initiative, which connects the Chinese-controlled port of Piraeus in Greece to the south and provides an entry point. We sell Chinese products to Central and Eastern Europe.
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The more than $2 billion project is scheduled to be completed in 2026 after repeated delays.
In 2022, immediately after Russia invaded Ukraine, Serbia handed over a semi-secret Chinese-made high-performance anti-aircraft system installed on a Y-20 transport aircraft to the Chinese Air Force.
The arms deliveries on the territory of at least two NATO members, Turkey and Bulgaria, are seen by experts as a sign of China’s growing global influence.
