Chinese Ambassador to Serbia Li Ming said that China’s friendly relations with Serbia should serve as a model for relations between China and the European Union.

On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, he expressed his gratitude to “Serbian friends who support the development of Sino-Serbian relations, which are a reference point for cooperation between China and the EU” and a model for the international community”.

“We have just celebrated the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, and I would like to express my sincere gratitude to our Serbian friends who have long paid attention to and supported the development of Sino-Serbian relations,” said the ambassador, whose statement was relayed by Tanjug.

Li Ming praised the relations between his country and Serbia, saying that China and Serbia are “iron friends who have shared good and bad with each other – in recent years, under the strategic leadership of the leaders of the two countries, the Sino-Serbian.” They have entered a new stage of strong development, with the two sides firmly supporting each other’s core interests and development paths.”

He also spoke about business cooperation between Serbia, which is a candidate for membership of the European Union, but this does not prevent it from maintaining such relations with both China and Russia.

“We have also achieved fruitful results of cooperation on major projects such as the HBIS Smederevo steel plant and the Belgrade-Budapest high-speed rail line, where China has become Serbia’s largest source of investment and second trading partner. In May this year, President Xi Jinping “During a state visit to Serbia, we reached an important consensus with President Aleksandar Vučić and jointly led Sino-Serbian relations on a new path of building a community with a shared future,” said the Chinese ambassador.

“China-Serbia relations have set a benchmark for China-EU cooperation and a model for the international community. China and Serbia have broad prospects for cooperation and deep friendship. Let us unite and always be good friends who treat each other.” Honestly, good partners in win-win cooperation, a good example of promoting justice and a great advocate of people-to-people communication. Together we will cultivate our relations and see the tree of Sino-Serbian friendship grow stronger and bear more fruit, the good of the two nations,” said Ambassador Li Ming, adding at the end, ”I wish the People’s Republic of China prosperity, long live the friendship between China and Serbia!”

China sees Serbia and Hungary as gateways for the expansion of its influence in the European Union and has other interests that it wants to realize through alliances with the two autocrats Aleksandar Vučić and Viktor Orban.

For example, the Chinese company BYD, an electric vehicle company that sold more electric vehicles than Tesla last year, is planning to build its first factory in Europe in Hungary. By building cars within the EU, Beijing can avoid the risk of tariffs on electric cars imported from China.

In May 2024, Chinese President Xi Jinping traveled to meet with pro-Beijing governments in Serbia and Hungary.

However, Serbia benefits the most from the European Union, even though it has once again failed to harmonize its foreign policy with the EU. The most important trading partners are Germany, Italy, China and Russia.

/TheGeopost