At the site of the Hungarian-Serbian railway project, a track-laying machine is laying tracks in Subotica, on the Serbian border.
Photo by Sun Dangxun
"The high-quality Belt and Road cooperation between China and Cyprus has achieved fruitful results, and the two sides will continue to promote practical cooperation in a wide range of fields, high quality and good benefits, which will not only provide solid support for each other's economic and social construction, but also become a vivid practice of promoting economic globalization and inclusive development." At noon on May 8, local time, President Xi Jinping stressed when he met with Serbian President Vučić at the Serbian House in Belgrade after talks.
Serbia is one of the first countries to respond to the Belt and Road Initiative and China's first free trade partner in Central and Eastern Europe. Last year, China was Serbia's largest source of investment and second largest trading partner. Cooperation in economy, trade, industrial chain and infrastructure construction between the two sides is in the ascendant, helping the two countries to modernize their respective processes.
Trade cooperation has reached a new level
With the sound of a long whistle, the first China-Europe train from Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province and directly to Serbia arrived in Belgrade not long ago. The train carried a total of 110 standard containers of auto parts, machinery and equipment, medical equipment and other products, and traveled about 10,200 kilometers. The newly opened "Shijiazhuang-Belgrade" China-Europe Express will further boost China-Belgrade logistics and trade.
In recent years, breakthroughs have been made in China-Cyprus economic and trade cooperation. On October 17, 2023, China and Cyprus signed a free trade agreement, which is the first free trade agreement signed between China and a Central and Eastern European country, which will officially enter into force on July 1 this year. Serbian Minister of Domestic and Foreign Trade Tommislav Momirovic said that the free trade agreement will create a more preferential, convenient, transparent and stable business environment for relevant enterprises, and will provide impetus for deepening Serbian-Chinese economic and trade cooperation after the agreement comes into force.
Wine, sweet honey, natural black truffles...... In November 2023, Serbia participated in the 6th China International Import Expo as the guest of honor. More and more Serbian companies and goods are using various communication platforms to showcase their presence and find new business opportunities in the Chinese market.
With the deepening of Sino-Serbian cooperation, a large number of Chinese technology brands have taken root and thrived in the Serbian market. Branko Djojevic, head of the terminal of Serbian telecom operator Yettel, told reporters that the Serbian communication market is very dynamic, which also benefits from the active help of Chinese manufacturers. For example, it took about two years for Honor to become the top mobile phone brand in Serbia by market share. "The Chinese team has provided a very good service and user experience for the local market."
The Belt and Road Initiative between China and Cyprus has been continuously promoted, bringing tangible benefits to the people of the two countries. The construction of the Eurasian Trade Center in the new area of Belgrade is in full swing, with the participation of many Chinese companies as well as local companies. Katarina Zakic, Director of the Belt and Road Regional Research Center of the Serbian Institute of International Political Economy, said that the Belt and Road Initiative provides a major opportunity for Serbia and the Western Balkans to achieve economic revitalization and improve people's livelihood, and adds new momentum to deepening and enhancing the comprehensive strategic partnership and building a Serbia-China community with a shared future in the new era.
Financial integration creates new opportunities
Walking into the ice-cold factory in Valjevo, Serbia, invested and built by the Chinese company Hisense, local workers are busy on the refrigerator production line. According to reports, the plant will be officially put into operation in September 2023 and will provide thousands of local jobs in the next three years.
Valjevo is an important city in southwestern Serbia. In the past, due to the lack of job opportunities, some locals chose to seek employment in other areas. After Chinese companies, including Hisense, invested and built factories here, many locals came back from other places or even abroad to work.
More and more Chinese enterprises are investing in Cyprus, in the fields of infrastructure construction and energy, contributing to the solution of local employment problems and the balanced development of the regional economy. Director of the Center for Cooperation between Serbia and BRICS, Branislav Ivanovic, said that the investment of Chinese enterprises in Serbia not only provides jobs, but also drives the development of industrial chains in these regions.
In 2019, Serbia officially became the 73rd non-regional member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Serbia's First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Sinisa Mali said that this is a major positive news for Serbia, and joining the AIIB will allow Serbia to obtain more preferential loans and opportunities for cross-regional cooperation.
In 2023, the People's Bank of China and the Central Bank of Serbia signed a memorandum of cooperation to establish a RMB clearing arrangement in Serbia. This cooperation will facilitate the use of RMB by enterprises and financial institutions of the two countries for cross-border transactions, and promote bilateral trade and investment facilitation. Governor of the Central Bank of Cyprus Tabakovic said that the signing of the memorandum is another step forward in the cooperation between Cyprus and China in the field of financial services.
As for the direction of the next stage of Serbian-Chinese economic and trade cooperation, Momirovic believes that China has made remarkable achievements in high-tech industries such as digital economy and new energy vehicles, and Serbia hopes to strengthen cooperation with China in relevant fields to help Serbia's economic transformation and upgrading.
Connectivity expands new space
The Danube River flows through Serbia and is home to a wealth of cultural and historical sites on both banks, as well as natural beauty. On the banks of the Morava River, a tributary of the Danube, Chinese and Cypriot employees are working side by side to build the "Danube Corridor" expressway project.
The "Danube Corridor" expressway project, undertaken by China's Shandong High-Speed Group, connects the eastern Serbian cities of Pozarevac and Golubac. According to Chang Xuxian, the Serbian national representative of Shandong High-speed International Company, the project is about 68 kilometers long, with two-way four lanes and a design speed of 100 kilometers per hour. As part of the transportation network in eastern Serbia, the completion of the expressway will connect eastern Serbia with major cities in China, which is conducive to improving the level of local connectivity, developing local tourism resources, improving the investment environment and boosting economic development.
Golubac is a city in the northeast of Serbia, and the Golubac Fortress is a famous tourist attraction in the region, attracting more than 2 million tourists every year. Iskra Maksimovich, head of the Golubac Fortress Scenic Area, told reporters that after the opening of the "Danube Corridor" expressway project, the travel time from Belgrade to Golubac will be shortened by at least half. "The arrival of Chinese companies has brought us many benefits, not only to create a large number of jobs, but also to promote the tourism industry and the economic development of the whole region."
In recent years, the Serbian government has attached great importance to infrastructure construction. China's investment or construction of infrastructure in Serbia has created many firsts in Serbia: the Hungarian-Serbian railway, as a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative, has become the first Chinese high-speed railway in Europe; The Zemun-Borca Bridge across the Danube in Belgrade is the first bridge built by a Chinese company in Europe; The E763 expressway is the first expressway built by a Chinese enterprise in Europe...... The steady progress of these projects will greatly contribute to regional connectivity.
"Thanks to our cooperation with China, we have not only improved our infrastructure, but also made a technological leap." Serbian Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Vessic said that he hopes to strengthen cooperation with China in the field of new technologies, environmental protection, especially green transportation in the future. "In the face of increasing global challenges, good connectivity is particularly important as a prerequisite for sustainable development," said the Ambassador of Serbia to China, Maya Stefanović. ”
Marko Albnović, editor-in-chief of Serbian Politico, said that Serbia and China have carried out cooperation in infrastructure connectivity and other aspects to promote mutual benefit between the two countries and set a model for cooperation in building the "Belt and Road".
(Reporter Ren Yan, Wang Di, and Wang Hailin participated in the writing)