Thewesternbalkans
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced on Instagram on Monday that Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Serbia this year. The trip was confirmed during talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the Serbian head of state said.
In a speech at a New Year reception he hosted in Belgrade, Vucic said: “Xi Jinping, our sincere friend … will visit our country this year,” according to Serbian media reports on Monday.
Comment: Most likely, Serbia will be part of the Chinese leader’s first European tour after the pandemic. But Serbia is the first confirmed destination so far. France was also mentioned in media publications.
The last meeting between Vucic and Xi Jinping took place in Beijing in October 2023, when a Free Trade Agreement was signed. The October trade deal was the first signed by Beijing with a Central or Eastern European country and could help boost military-technical cooperation between the two countries. Serbia was the first country in Europe to receive the Chinese FK-3 anti-aircraft missile complex in April 2022 as part of a spectacular airlift over the territory of European NATO member states.
Beijing and Belgrade also strongly support each other’s positions on Taiwan and Kosovo. While the EU offers membership to Serbia if it recognizes Kosovo, Beijing supports Belgrade not to recognize Kosovo as a state.
