Chinese President Xi Jinping came to Serbia to strengthen economic ties

China’s state broadcaster CCTV reported that Xi Jinping “arrived in Belgrade on a special plane, his state visit was organized at the invitation of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.”

Xi Jinping will meet with A. Vučić in Belgrade on Wednesday, as Beijing seeks to strengthen political and economic ties with friendlier European countries. China has invested billions in Serbia and neighboring Balkan countries, particularly in mining and manufacturing, and Beijing and Belgrade signed a free trade agreement last year.

Xi Jinping arrived in the Serbian capital after a state visit to France, where he held intensive talks with President Emmanuel Macron on the sensitive topics of trade and close ties with Russia, which China maintains despite the war in Ukraine. However, the other two countries chosen by Xi Jinping for the first time since 2019 for the trip to Europe, which will end in Hungary, are considered the most favorable countries in Europe for Moscow.

Serbian Finance Minister Siniša Mali told state broadcaster RTS that discussions on Wednesday would focus on a “great project”. “We are looking to attract significant Chinese investment in a very promising area,” he said on Tuesday, but added that he would “not reveal the cards at this time.”

During the visit, the streets of the Serbian capital were decorated with Chinese flags, banners and billboards proclaiming “a warm welcome to friends from China”.

Xi Jinping’s visit to Belgrade coincides with the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Chinese embassy. in 1999 Three people were killed when the US embassy was bombed. The embassy was hit during a months-long US-led NATO campaign targeting Serbian security forces fighting a brutal war with ethnic Albanian rebels in Kosovo. The US later apologized and said outdated maps misled the pilot and he hit the wrong target.

On Tuesday, the Serbian daily Politika published an article by Xi Jinping in which he wrote that NATO had “heinously bombed the Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia” and warned that China “will never allow such a tragic history to repeat itself.” He also praised the “iron-solid” friendship between China and Serbia, “fortified by the blood of our compatriots.”

According to experts, the date of the visit means it will have “great symbolic significance”.

After the meeting with A. Vučić, Xi Jinping will go to Hungary, where China has invested a lot in huge battery and electric car factories.