A high-ranking Serbian lawmaker spoke highly of China's Xinjiang region as an important crossroad of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and a new hub of connection between East and West, offering numerous opportunities for trade, transportation, logistics, and investment.
Edin Djerlek, vice president of Serbia's National Assembly and deputy president of the Justice and Reconciliation Party, made his comments during the 2025 Legislators Forum for Friendly Exchanges in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China.
Held on Sunday, the Forum brought together over 60 legislators and former legislators from five continents and over 60 deputies to China's National People's Congress and to people's congresses at the subnational level.
During his tour of Xinjiang's factories and enterprises, Djerlek witnessed firsthand the region's remarkable strides in high-quality development.
"I was truly surprised by the high level of development in Xinjiang. And the special impression was visiting the companies. Here, we were visiting some company who is producing gloves, the high-quality gloves for construction workers and also we visited the company who is making lavender-based products. So I was impressed by all of them by their dedication, professionalism and technology they use, which was something like I have never seen before," he said in an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN).
He also highlighted Xinjiang's cultural diversity and social inclusiveness.
"At the same moment I saw many minorities, many ethnic groups, many ethnic communities living together and respecting each other and for being included in political and social life," he said.
He hailed Xinjiang's role as a crucial bridge in the BRI, linking Serbia and China.
"Xinjiang is a very important crossroad of Belt and Road Initiative, it's already becoming a new hub of connection between East and West, which provides many opportunities for trade, transport, logistics and investment. And for Serbia, which is in part of Balkans in Europe, Xinjiang can be a new bridge to China. Talking more about the future where our nations grow together and support one another, which is I think very important, especially now in this world," he said.
Serbian lawmaker hails Xinjiang's role as bridge in Belt and Road Initiative
