Chinese chief Xi Jinping set to satisfy Serbian officers on the second leg of his Europe tour
Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes palms with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on the Palace of Serbia as a part of the Chinese President’s two-day state go to in Belgrade, Serbia, May 8, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Chinese President Xi Jinping is ready to satisfy Serbian officers on May 8 and he hopes his go to will additional enhance already pleasant relations with the Balkan nation, which is searching for entry to the European Union.
Mr. Xi arrived in Serbia to a heat welcome on My 7 from France, the place he had a high-stakes state go to dominated by commerce disputes and Russia-Ukraine warfare.
He will proceed to Hungary afterward May 8, which, like Serbia, is seen as one among China’s extra pleasant companions in Europe.
Pro-China sentiments in Serbia
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and different prime officers welcomed Mr. Xi on the airport on May 7 after his aircraft was escorted by army jets. Mt. Vucic mentioned Mr. Xi’s go to was a “nice honour” and China is an “inspiration” for Serbia.
Signs of pro-China sentiments were clearly visible — a huge Chinese flag was placed on a skyscraper along a roadway leading into the city from the airport. Smaller Chinese and Serbian flags could be seen downtown and along a highway.
China has poured billions of dollars into Serbia in investment and loans, particularly in mining and infrastructure. The two countries signed an agreement on a strategic partnership in 2016 and a free trade agreement last year.
Serbia, a landlocked nation in the heart of the Balkans, has been a key country in China’s Belt and Road initiative designed to increase Beijing’s influence in Europe through economic investment. Critics say it could serve as a Chinese Trojan horse and gateway to Europe.
People wave Chinese and Serbian flags exterior the Palace of Serbia throughout a welcome ceremony for Chinese President Xi Jinping in Belgrade.
| Photo Credit:
AFP
Mr. Xi additionally arrived in Serbia on a symbolic date: the twenty fifth anniversary of the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade by U.S. jets throughout NATO’s air warfare over Kosovo, when three Chinese residents have been killed. The incident has helped forge shut political ties between China and Serbia.
‘Ironclad’ Serbia-China friendship
“Our bilateral relationship has stood the test of changing international environment and become a fine example of state-to-state relations,” Mr. Xi mentioned in an arrival assertion printed by China’s Foreign Ministry. He described the Serbia-China friendship as “ironclad.”
“Standing at a new historical starting point, China will work with Serbia to jointly stay committed to the original aspiration and forge ahead together to open up a new vista in China-Serbia cooperation with stronger momentum, greater scope, and higher quality,” he mentioned, including, “I am confident that this visit will be a fruitful one and will open up a new chapter in China-Serbia relations.”
Chinese firms are operating Serbia’s greatest copper mine and a metal mill, and are additionally constructing scores of roads and highways throughout the nation, together with a railway towards northern neighbor Hungary.
In 2014, Hungary and Serbia concluded an settlement with Beijing to modernize the railway between their capitals of Budapest and Belgrade, a part of a Belt and Road plan to hyperlink up with the Chinese-controlled port of Piraeus in Greece to the south, an entry level for Chinese items to Central and Eastern Europe.
The greater than $2 billion venture is predicted to be accomplished in 2026, after quite a few delays.
In 2022, shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Serbia took semi-secret supply of a complicated Chinese anti-aircraft system flown in on Chinese Air Force Y-20 transport planes.
The arms supply over the territory of at the least two NATO member states, Turkey and Bulgaria, was seen by specialists as an indication of China’s rising international attain.