Thewesternbalkans
Serbia’s Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin, who is on an official visit to the People’s Republic of China, met on December 12 with Chen Wenqing, Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
Vulin and Chen stressed that Serbia and China are connected by traditional, iron-clad friendship and a common future, and that bilateral cooperation between the two countries is at a historic level thanks to the personal friendship between President Aleksandar Vučić and Xi Jinping.
The readiness of Serbia and China to work to strengthen their strategic partnership was emphasized.
Vulin and Chen also discussed cooperation between the two countries in the security field, as well as the exchange of experience in counterintelligence and the fight against “color revolutions”.
Vulin pointed out that President Aleksandar Vučić is pursuing an independent and freedom-loving policy, which is why the West is trying to destabilize the Republic of Serbia, and asked Chen to convey fraternal greetings from the President of Serbia to President Xi.
He also thanked China for supporting Serbia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty and its strong support for the country in international institutions, and pointed out that Serbia firmly supports the One China policy. It was agreed to continue cooperation between Serbia and China in the field of security to protect both countries.
The interlocutors also discussed the current political and security situation in the world.
Vulin also met with Chen Yixing, Minister of State Security of the PRC.
Comment: Chen Wenqing is the only member of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee with a background in state security, and as Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, he is the highest-ranking Chinese politician in the security sector. On his second foreign visit since taking over the powerful commission, in September 2023, he visited Serbia. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić described his meeting with Chen Wenqing as “exceptional.” During Vulin’s meeting in Beijing with the other Chen, Chen Yixing, it was emphasized that the cooperation between the Serbian intelligence service BIA and the Chinese Ministry of State Security was “excellent, consistent and fruitful.” China’s Ministry of State Security is responsible for protecting China’s overseas interests, in particular the projects in the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative. There are multi-billion dollar Chinese investments in Serbia, and infrastructure projects – highways, bridges, railways, energy infrastructure – are being built with Chinese loans. In recent years, over 1,000 Huawei cameras with facial recognition capabilities have been deployed in Serbia.
