Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming state visit to Serbia will mark a new milestone in bilateral relations and cooperation between the two sides, said Chinese Ambassador to Serbia Li Ming, during an interview.
At the invitation of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, President Xi will pay a state visit to Serbia, eight years after his last visit to the European country.
Speaking in an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) on Saturday, Li said that over the past eight years, China and Serbia's relationship has witnessed "exponential" growth in two-way trade, high-level political engagement, and cultural exchanges.
"This is a milestone visit. And eight years ago, President Xi Jinping paid the first state visit to the Republic of Serbia, and that visit has created fruitful outcomes. China and Serbia relations have developed exponentially in the past eight years. For example, in the year of 2016, our bilateral trade volume was less than 600 million U.S. dollars. But eight years later, in the year of 2023, China-Serbia bilateral trade volume has reached more than 6 billion U.S. dollars," said Li.
Highlighting the remarkable trade ties between the two nations, Li emphasized that under the leadership of the two heads of state, this visit will pave the way for a brighter future of cooperation in trade, investment, and infrastructure development.
"Talking about this bilateral trade cooperation, I think we have to mention in the year of 2023, President Alexander Vucic attended the third High-level Forum of the Belt and Road Initiative in Beijing. On the sidelines of that forum, China and Serbia signed a bilateral free trade agreement. Serbian products, for example, Serbian wine, beef, pork and other fruit products, dairy products, will also find opportunities in the huge market of China. China-Serbia cooperation has become a role model," said the ambassador.
Li believes that the ironclad friendship between China and Serbia has been strengthened over time despite the changing international landscape, as the relationship is deeply rooted in history, culture and people-to-people links.
"China-Serbia relations are deeply rooted in historic and cultural history. If like middle aged or senior people in China, we can always remember the movies and literature in former Yugoslavia. So, many Chinese visitors and tourists come to Serbia to look for the fond memories of our two countries. That has established a very deep and solid foundation for our friendship in the area of culture and people-to-people links," Li said.
President Xi replied to a letter from Serbian workers in HBIS Smederevo Steel Plant last Monday, encouraging them to make new contributions to the China-Serbia friendship. Ambassador Li recounted the moment they received the letter and his subsequent visit to the factory to meet with representatives.
"When I presented the letter to the representatives of the workers, some of them, they still remember vividly, the day eight years ago when they welcomed warmly President Xi's visit. So they were deeply encouraged by President Xi, because in the eight years, fruitful outcomes have been achieved, not only to the factory, but also to the households of the workers and to the city. So the workers told me they will take this opportunity and work even harder for the future of the factory, for the future of the steel friendship between our two countries," said Li.
Located approximately 60 kilometers from the Serbian capital Belgrade, the Smederevo Steel Plant, once plagued by losses and management issues, is now Serbia's largest steel producer. In 2016, under the Belt and Road Initiative, China's HBIS Group Co. acquired the plant, transforming it into the HBIS Smederevo Steel Plant.
The Chinese firm introduced over 20 new technologies and management systems, utilizing waste materials to produce higher quality steel. Less than six months after the acquisition, the steel plant returned to profitability and became Serbia's largest exporter in 2018. Over 5,000 workers who faced unemployment were able to take up their work posts.
In 2023, the HBIS Smederevo Steel Plant received the Green Agenda award, jointly conferred by the European Union and the United Nations Development Program.
Xi's upcoming visit to Serbia marks milestone in bilateral ties: Chinese ambassador
