China’s Xi visits steel mill in Serbia on trip to boost ties

Chinese President Xi Jinping called on Chinese and Serbian legislative bodies to increase exchanges in various fields to contribute to relations between the two countries on Saturday. Xi ” s visit was “an extraordinary opportunity to build economic ties on already good political relations”, Vucic said. “We will also push forward the mutually beneficial cooperation to benefit the two peoples, and bring our bilateral relationship to a new high”, Xi said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping walks past Serbian army Honor Guards in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, June 18, 2016.

Regarding the “One Belt, One Road” strategy, we have developed an excellent cooperation in the field of infrastructure, where the Chinese companies completed the big bridge over the Danube and are now working on the construction of sections on Corridor 11, Vucic said.

“By laying the cornerstone, the two countries are building another bridge of friendship”, Serbian Culture Minister Ivan Tasovac said, expressing confidence that the cultural centre would be a meeting place and a place for discussions about new partnerships.

The Chinese president arrived in Belgrade Friday for a three-day visit to the Balkan country.

With an eye to pushing the bilateral cooperation to a new height, the two presidents agreed to focus on key areas and major projects, prioritizing cooperation in infrastructure construction, industrial capacity and agriculture. “We are expecting an increase in trade and investment”.

China’s One Belt, One Road initiative, meant to open new trade links for Chinese firms as the domestic economy slows, envisages a new Silk Road from Western China to Central Asia and on to Europe via the Balkans, a region keen to attract Chinese investment. North Atlantic Treaty Organisation insists it was a mistake, though senior military and intelligence sources in Europe and the US have since reportedly said that the Chinese embassy was removed from a prohibited targets list after North Atlantic Treaty Organisation electronic intelligence detected it was sending signals to the Serbian armed forces, which may have helped bring down a US Stealth aircraft.

Witnessed by Xi, Sinisa Mali, mayor of Belgrade, named “Confucius Street” and “Serbia-China Friendship Square” on the former site of the embassy.

Both sides are now mulling cooperation on waste-to-energy projects and industrial parks, Li said.

In April, China’s Hebei Iron & Steel (HESTEEL) signed a 46-million euro deal to buy a steel plant located on the Danube, an investment which analysts said opened door for Chinese investment in Serbia’s ailing metals sector. “We expect the town to revive and things to get much better”, he said. Xi will wrap up the tour in Uzbekistan, where he will attend a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit focusing on the fight against terrorism and crime.