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Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday met with Serbian Prime Minister Djuro Macut in Shanghai, where Macut is to attend the eighth China International Import Expo, reported Xinhua.
Li said that under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, relations between China and Serbia have maintained a steady development momentum, and mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields has been accelerated.
Since the beginning of this year, the two heads of state have met twice and reached broad consensuses on a series of major issues, mapping a direction for the building of a China-Serbia community with a shared future in the new era, Li said.
He expressed China’s willingness to enhance its alignment with Serbia’s development plan, fully utilize the bilateral free trade agreement with Serbia, promote key projects within the framework of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and explore deep cooperation potential in areas such as sci-tech innovation, the green economy, biomedicine and artificial intelligence.
China is ready to coordinate and cooperate closely with Serbia on platforms such as the United Nations, and to encourage all parties to actively implement the four major global initiatives, practice true multilateralism, strengthen and improve global governance, and build a community with a shared future for humanity in an improved manner, Li noted.
Macut said the Serbian government adheres to the one-China principle and firmly supports China’s legitimate position on safeguarding its core interests.
He expressed sincere appreciation for China’s valuable support of Serbia’s economic and social development, saying that Serbia looks forward to maintaining close, high-level exchange with China, and to deepening cooperation in areas such as the economy and trade, investment, the processing industry, science and technology, artificial intelligence, and tourism.
Serbia is a firm supporter of China-proposed concept of building a community with a shared future for humanity, and the four global initiatives, Macut said, adding that his country is willing to strengthen its collaboration with China on multilateral occasions to promote common development and prosperity.
Comment: Serbia, China’s first comprehensive strategic partner in Central and Eastern Europe, has a growing number of companies participating in the annual China International Import Expo (CIIE).
The Serbian government has shown high regard for the CIIE, with President Aleksandar Vučić and Prime Minister now Speaker of the Parliament, Ana Brnabić personally attending over the years. Serving as a bridge, the CIIE has accelerated trade exchanges and fostered closer relations between China and Serbia. Notably, Serbian exports to China have increased 185-fold over the past decade. The signing of the China-Serbia Free Trade Agreement in October 2023 is key to the upward trend.
Through the strategic partnership with Serbia, the massive investment in Hungary, the support for Republika Srpska (BiH), the new Babić government in the Czech Republic and having Slovakia as another friendly voice in Europe, Beijing is building a bloc of countries in the center of Europe that are friendly to China.
