China’s Xi Jinping receives red carpet welcome in Serbia

The red flag begins at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport and runs along the highway into the center of the Serbian capital.

This is Serbia’s way of showing that it is proud of its “ironclad friendship” with China and welcoming Xi Jinping to Belgrade.

At Xichengmen, commonly known as Genex Tower, the entire tower is covered in Chinese national colors.

For reference, there is a signboard for Hisense, a Chinese home appliance manufacturer that opened a refrigerator factory in Valjevo in western Serbia last year.

The Chinese president’s itinerary may have raised eyebrows in some parts of Europe. After all, Serbia has rarely been part of his three-stop tour by such an international leader.

However, in recent years, Serbia has deepened its relationship with China while continuing negotiations for membership in the European Union (EU).

Mr. Xi is likely to use this visit to emphasize his criticism of NATO. His visit coincides with the 25th anniversary of the US bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. And in an editorial for Serbian newspaper Politika, the president made it clear that emotions over the incident continue to run high.

“We must never forget,” he wrote. “The Chinese people value peace, but we will never allow such tragic history to repeat itself.”

This type of rhetoric resonates in Serbia, where a majority of the population opposes NATO membership. This is the key element that makes this stop on Mr. Xi’s European tour perfectly logical.

Commercial connections are also a factor. The two countries signed a free trade agreement last year under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2016, the year Xi last visited Serbia.

China currently claims to be the largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) to Serbia. Li Ming, the company’s ambassador, said Hisense, along with mining company Zijin and tire manufacturing company Linglong, provides 20,000 jobs.

In fact, according to United Nations trade statistics, China ranks fifth on the list of foreign direct investment, after Germany, Italy, the United States, and Russia.

Nevertheless, investment from China has been impressive and is likely to continue to increase. Serbia has just delivered China’s first electric high-speed railway. They will eventually run alongside Swiss-made rolling stock on the Belgrade-Budapest railway, which is being rebuilt with Chinese expertise and funding.

And that’s just the beginning. Serbian Infrastructure Minister Goran Besic said Chinese partners would also work on other infrastructure projects, including roads, bridges, tunnels and sewers. “There is really a lot of scope for cooperation with Chinese companies,” he told Serbian state broadcaster RTS.

It’s no wonder that Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić plans to personally serve his Chinese counterpart some of the country’s finest wines at a banquet in honor of Mr. Xi.

Vucic told China Central Television that Serbian wine is “not as expensive as Serbian wine,” noting that within five years Serbian wine will no longer be subject to import duties into China. [those] “In France,” he said, adding that he believed Mr. Xi “will like” his choice.

Perhaps this was a mild criticism of Emmanuel Macron, who hosted Mr Xi on the first stop of his European trip. The French president’s gift was a bottle of Rémy Martin’s Louis XIII cognac, which cost the equivalent of 5,000 euros in Belgrade.

A visit to the Pyrenees was also included in the charm offensive – Macron urges Mr Xi to influence Russian President Vladimir Putin to ensure more balanced trade with Europe and end the war in Ukraine This is in response to the pleas of Mr. and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The Chinese president’s next stop after Belgrade will be Budapest, where he will meet with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, his strongest ally among the leaders of EU member states.

Investment from China is also a strong factor, with a factory for electric car giant BYD among projects that strengthen Mr Orbán’s resistance to the EU deal, from immigration to arms deliveries to Ukraine. It is.