7 September 2019

Council President Nikolić inaugurates a gathering in the presence of officials from all CIFIT 2019 participating countries

President of the Serbian National Council for Russia and China Tomislav Nikolić participated in a meeting bringing together delegates from the Serbian Government, Fujian Province Communist Party Secretary Yu Weiguo, and the Fujian Province representatives, following which he inaugurated a gathering attended by officials from all CIFIT 2019 participating countries. The China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT) is the largest investment event in China and one of the largest in the world.

Photograph: National Council

Speaking to the officials of CIFIT participating countries, Council President Nikolić underlined the following: “The advent of important Chinese companies investing in Serbia means that the investment-based cooperation is becoming the driving force of further solidification of economic ties between the two countries. The purchase of Smederevo Steelworks by China’s HBIS and the strategic partnership between MSC Bor and China’s Zijin, whose seat is right here in Xiamen, has already yielded good results, and we have the same expectations from the Zrenjanin tire factory construction project carried out by China’s Shandong Linglong, which is currently the largest investment in Serbia made by a Chinese private company. In only two years, HBIS has become the largest Serbian exporter with EUR 750 million worth of exports in 2018, which is 40% more compared to 2017. I believe that CIFIT will cement the overall Sino-Serbian relations, the relations between other countries present here and China, as well as the ties between us – the countries that our Chinese friends have brought together here in Xiamen, so that we could all contribute to the enhancement of economic ties and the promotion and growth of investment and trade flows, with the aim of achieving sustainable economic development and improving the quality of life for all our citizens, be they from North or South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia or New Zealand”.