Meanwhile, as the host of President Xi’s first destination, Belgrade Mayor Sini?a Mali also welcomes the Chinese leader and hopes his visit will bring more opportunities for Belgrade. China is deeply involved in road-building and power generation projects in Serbia, and has also built a bridge over the Danube (the first such project in Europe) which is known affectionately by the locals as the “Chinese Bridge”.
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However, Mahmud Busatlija, a foreign investment consultant, told BIRN that there are no real Chinese “investments” in Serbia, claiming that the Chinese are just boosting the exports of Chinese companies with infrastructure credits.
Li cited the infrastructure projects constructed or funded by Chinese companies as an example of bilateral collaboration. It helps, of course, that there are no tricky political issues between the two countries; China supports Serbia’s view on the Kosovo issue while in return Serbia sticks to a firm one-China policy.
They signed a memorandum to tap potential on cooperation in energy, finance, telecommunications, and agriculture.
For sixty years, the peoples of China and Serbia have stood alongside each other, cherishing a mutual fondness and a timeless friendship. The model of cooperation has also shifted from traditional loan granting to direct investment or joint ventures.
The China-CEE cooperation is an important, integral part of overall development of China-Europe relations, according to the article.
“The three countries were among the first to respond to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, proposed by Xi during his 2013 trips to Central Asia and Southeast Asia”, the Global Times said. Chinese companies have invested roughly $5 billion in the CEE countries, which have also made investments worth an estimated total of 1.2 billion dollars in China.
But he said the two countries have been working closely on a series of agreements to be signed during Putin’s forthcoming visit to China, which is expected to take place in late June. Infrastructure investments have been a vital component of the partnership. We’re getting ready to sign nearly 20 agreements, which is an fantastic result for a small country.
Even seen in a bilateral context, this visit demonstrates that no country is seen as too small or remote by the new China, and that China is committed to extending the range of her diplomacy without aggressive intent, but aiming at win-win benefits through economic cooperation.
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“The Belt and Road Initiative opposes seeking dominance in regional affairs or sphere of influence, does not intervene in internal affairs of regional countries, and is in accord with existing regional mechanisms and cooperative proposals”, said Liu Jianchao, a former Chinese assistant foreign minister.
