6 February 2019

National Council President Nikolić and Ambassador of PR China to Serbia Chen Bo discuss Sino-Serbian cooperation and new opportunities for enhancement of the two countries’ relations

President of the National Council for Coordination of Cooperation with the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China Tomislav Nikolić had a meeting with Ambassador of PR China to Serbia Chen Bo about Sino-Serbian cooperation and new opportunities for the enhancement of the two countries’ relations.

Photograph: Fonet

Council President Nikolić said that Serbia was grateful to China for its staunch position regarding the preservation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia, adding that Serbia would never withdraw its support to the One China policy.

In the talks, Mr. Nikolić acquainted Ambassador Chen Bo with the cardinal projects executed in tandem with Chinese partners, underlining that the HBIS Smederevo Steelworks and Zijin MSC Bor investments, coupled with the arrival of Shandong Linglong to Zrenjanin, all prove that China may rely on Serbia for investment in stable projects.

Photograph: Fonet

“Several projects are in the pipeline, including the construction of gas-fired and coal-fired thermal power plants, and projects in the sectors of car-making industry and innovative technologies, which may all serve as the new stepping stone to successful cooperation in the future. I think the time has come to move to a higher level of collaboration with China, and to joint production for third markets”, Council President Nikolić emphasized.

“You have done an excellent job in the interest of our cooperation by signing the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement in 2016, which marked a new chapter in bilateral relations between China and Serbia. China appreciates the efforts that you as President of the National Council make with the aim of developing the future Sino-Serbian cooperation. Owing to the 16+1 cooperation mechanism and the Belt and Road initiative, our two countries have achieved remarkable practical cooperation results. We expect the National Council to support our future cooperation and we stand ready to deepen the strategic partnership with Serbia. The time has come for Chinese SMEs to help strengthen the economic cooperation between our two countries through active engagement”, the Ambassador stressed.

Ambassador Chen Bo expressed her hope that Serbia and China would sign the joint Bilateral Cooperation Plan at the Second Cooperation Forum in Beijing, to be held in April, in the context of the Belt and Road initiative. The National Council is in charge of coordinating the Draft Plan. “There are no open issues between Serbia and China, we foster close contacts. I can see the future of relations in increased Chinese investments in Serbia”, Ambassador Chen Bo underlined.