Serbia: China’s Xi sees Serbia as milestone on new ‘Silk Road’
2016/06/20
Serbia could play a significant role in Beijing’s ambitious plan for a new “Silk Road” to boost trade with Europe, Asia and Africa, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Sunday.
Xi said China was ready for additional cooperation with Belgrade during a visit to Serbia that has seen his country strengthen its economic presence in the Balkans with additional than 20 finance and infrastructure deals.
China’s One Belt, One Road initiative, intended 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 .
Addressing workers and officials at a steel-works bought by a Chinese company, Xi said: “We are developing the One Belt, One Road project … with its position and advantages Serbia will have a significant place in this.”
He added: “This cooperation should be an example of Chinese cooperation with nations in Southern and Eastern Europe.”
China’s Hesteel signed a 46-million euro transaction in April to buy the Smederevo steel-works, a 100-year-old company that was part of US Steel during the early years of this century before being handed over the Serbian government.
Hesteel chairman Yong Yu said his company would make the plant one of the majority competitive in Europe.
European Union steel producers have complained that the purchase of a steel-works in an EU candidate country by a national-owned Chinese enterprise raises critical concerns about unfair competition from national-backed enterprises.
Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said Serbia was in talks with the Chinese on setting up a free trade zone at Smederevo, a city on the banks of the Danube a short distance from Belgrade.
Vucic as well invited Chinese companies to invest in Serbia’s troubled copper and petrochemical industries.
Since China and Serbia signed a strategic partnership agreement in 2009, China has invested additional than $1 billion in Serbia, mostly in soft loans for infrastructure and energy projects.
Next Serbia, Xi travels to Poland. He will as well visit Uzbekistan for a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a Chinese and Russian-led security grouping.
- Related Articles
-
UNWTO: International tourism – strongest half-year results since 2010
2017/09/09 Destinations worldwide welcomed 598 million international tourists in the initial six months of 2017, some 36 million additional than in the same period of 2016. At 6%, increase was well above the trend of recent years, making the current January-June period the strongest half-year since 2010. Visitor numbers reported by destinations around the world reflect strong request for international travel in the initial half of 2017, according to the new UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. Worldwide, international tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) increased by 6% compared to the same six-month period last year, well above the sustained and consistent trend of 4% or higher increase since 2010. This represents the strongest half-year in seven years. -
US LNG exports make European market more competitive
2017/08/27 The European gas market is becoming additional and additional competitive and US exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) are part of this landscape, Francis Perrin, energy expert, chairman of Energy Strategies and Policies (France) told Trend. “Energy is always a strategic business. Economic aspects are very significant of course, particularly the price of LNG, but nations as well take into account strategic issues. For some Central and Eastern European nations one of the key priorities of their energy policies is the diversification of their supplies, in particular gas imports, in order to reduce their dependence on Russia,” said the expert. -
Hungarian Border ‘Smart Fence’ Violates Rights
2017/07/08 Next Belgrade newspaper Politika reported on Tuesday that the Hungarian government is testing an electrified ‘smart fence’ on the border with Serbia, the Belgrade Centre for Protection and Help for Asylum-Seekers said the move was a violation of European human-rights agreements. “Hungarian [border police] are beating migrants, attacking them with dogs, they are even beating children, and according to statements of migrants, they are periodically turning on the electricity in some parts of the [border] fence,” Rados Djurovic from the Centre told BIRN. According to Politika, Hungarian officials insisted however that the voltage of the electricity is low, at 900 volts, so “it can’t seriously hurt people”. -
The Balkan country sees China’s ‘new Silk Road’
2017/04/26 This is the sixth in a series of reports focusing on the development of the Belt and Road Initiative, China’s proposed extensive trading route linking Asia, Europe and Africa. With a people of 7 million, roughly the same as a number of Chinese cities, Serbia will enjoy rapid economic increase, climbing from last year’s 2.8 % to 3.5 % in 2019, according to the World Bank. The bank’s new updates suggest the Balkan country’s prospects are even rosier than those of the European Union economies, which will average about 2 % a year. The promising outlook is half a result of the coun- try’s plan to become a regional transportation hub, which has seen Serbia deepen investment in roads, rails, the expansion of urban infrastructure and even construction of high-tech business parks — similar to the increase engines used in a number of cities in China. -
China, Serbia vow to solidify friendship, cooperation
2017/04/07 Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with visiting Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic on Thursday, agreeing to enhance cooperation within the Belt and Road Initiative and the "16+1" cooperation mechanism. The "16+1" refers to China and the 16 Central and Eastern European nations (CEEC). The two leaders as well agreed to boost evolution of their comprehensive strategic partnership. Serbia was the initial CEE country to forge a strategic partnership with China
-
- Serbia News
-
- AFGHANISTAN: UNWTO: International tourism – strongest half-year results since 2010
- ALBANIA: US LNG exports make European market more competitive
- HUNGARY: Hungarian Border ‘Smart Fence’ Violates Rights
- CHINA: SERBIA TAKES INITIATIVE TO FURTHER AMBITIONS
- CHINA: China, Serbia vow to solidify friendship, cooperation
- AFGHANISTAN: Higher earning Why a university degree is worth more in some countries than others
- Trending Articles
-
- EUROPE: Ball Corporation Debuts Three New Aluminium Beverage Can Sizes
- SOUTH AFRICA: Nigeria and South Africa emerge from recession
- NIGERIA: The Security and Exchange Commission approves the 40th Annual General Meeting of Oando PLC
- BAHRAIN: Aluminium Bahrain’s Line 6 Expansion Achieves 25 Percent Completion
- CHINA: Chinese-supported infrastructure projects change Zambia's landscape
- RUSSIA: Rusal Completes US$7.6-Million Modernization Project at Irkutsk Aluminium Smelter