Xi visit ‘like spring after long winter’
Print Edition
CHINA and Serbia are set to sign at least 20 trade and investment deals during the visit by President Xi Jinping, the first by a Chinese head of state in more than 30 years.
China sees the visit as part of its “One Belt, One Road” initiative, which is intended to open up new trade links for Chinese firms.
Serbia sent fighter jets to escort Xi’s plane yesterday when it entered the country’s airspace. He and his wife Peng Liyuan were greeted at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla airport by Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and his wife Dragica Nikolic, Parliament Speaker Maja Gojkovic, Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic.
Serbian children presented bread and salt for Xi and Peng to taste, a tradition showing respect and friendship to distinguished guests. They also received flowers and watched dancers perform a traditional Serbian folk dance.
“The traditional friendship between our two countries and peoples has stood the historical test amid the changes of the international landscape and our respective national conditions, and become even stronger,” the Chinese president said in a speech at the airport.
Xi noted the accelerated progress in bilateral ties, especially since the establishment of a strategic partnership between China and Serbia in 2009.
He also hailed mutual political trust and fruitful cooperation in such fields as energy, transport, infrastructure construction and agriculture over recent years.
“China stands ready to work with Serbia to keep the momentum and push our relations and practical cooperation to a higher level, thus creating a new situation for our mutually beneficial cooperation and common development,” he said.
Nikolic told Chinese media: “After so many years the Chinese president is visiting Serbia. That is like spring after a long winter.”
The visit is Xi’s second trip to central and eastern Europe in the past few months. He visited the Czech Republic in March.
Countries in the region are competing for Chinese investment, looking to attract firms in need of new markets while securing access for their own products in China.
Among the deals expected to be struck in Serbia are agreements on building highways and waste-to-power plants.
The two countries will also reaffirm their commitment to building a high-speed railway between Serbia and Hungarian capital Budapest.
To cement good relations, the foundation stone for a Chinese cultural center will be laid and a monument to Confucius erected.
Since their partnership agreement in 2009, China has invested more than US$1 billion in Serbia, mostly in soft loans, including finance for a bridge in Belgrade, the renovation of a coal-fired power plant and the construction of a new plant due to come online in 2018.
A deal worth 46 million euros (US$52 million) to buy Serbia’s sole steel plant by Hebei Iron and Steel announced in April is seen by Serbian officials and analysts as a major breakthrough that could pave the way for other Chinese companies.
Last year, Serbia signed a memorandum of understanding with China to jointly promote the Belt and Road initiative at a meeting with central and eastern European countries in east China’s Suzhou City.
The initiative, proposed by President Xi in 2013, consists of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. It is aimed at building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes.
During his current travels, Xi will also visit Poland and Uzbekistan, the latter for a regional summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
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