Serbian PM hails dynamic partnership with China

BELGRADE, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Serbia has developed one of the most intensive and dynamic partnerships with China in Central and Eastern Europe over the past decade, Serbian Prime Minister Djuro Macut said Friday at a think tank conference in Belgrade.

The event, co-organized by the Belt and Road Institute Belgrade and the Serbian government, aims to deepen bilateral cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). This year's conference was held under the theme "Building a Shared Future for Humanity" and brought together Serbian and Chinese officials, scholars, and entrepreneurs.

In his opening remarks, Macut said Serbia-China relations had reached new heights following the joint statement on building a China-Serbia community with a shared future in the new era, signed in May last year.

He noted that more than 30 projects had been implemented in the past 12 months across key sectors such as infrastructure, industry, education, and innovation.

"Serbia fully shares all values with China regarding the respect for international law," said Macut, highlighting that 2025 marks 70 years of friendship between China and Serbia.

He also emphasized the significance of the China-Serbia Free Trade Agreement, which came into effect on July 1, 2024, making Serbia the first country in the region to gain duty-free access to the Chinese market.

Serbian Minister of Domestic and Foreign Trade Jagoda Lazarevic said economic ties between the two countries continue to expand, with Chinese enterprises playing a pivotal role in Serbia's development, particularly in road, rail, and energy infrastructure.

She noted that China became Serbia's top foreign investor in 2024.

Chinese Ambassador to Serbia Li Ming said the BRI has attracted nearly one trillion U.S. dollars in investment and helped lift over 40 million people out of poverty globally. He reaffirmed China and Serbia's mutual support for each other's territorial integrity and cooperation based on mutual benefit and shared progress.

During the conference, Macut and Li jointly unveiled a plaque marking the launch of the Belt and Road Leadership Global Training Center in Serbia, operated by the Harbin Institute of Technology, a public science and engineering university in northeast China's Heilongjiang province.