State-backed Chinese infrastructure titan Shandong High Speed Group has consolidated its position as a primary builder for the Serbian government, racking up nearly €200 million in dynamic revenue inside the country.
An exhaustive financial analysis conducted by Radio Free Europe (RFE/RL / REL) reveals a stark duality within the Chinese conglomerate’s operations: while Belgrade continuously bypasses standard competitive tendering to award multi-billion-euro contracts directly to Shandong, several of its primary local subsidiaries are posting massive financial deficits, fueled by rampant cost overruns, systemic delays, and the systemic use of blacklisted subcontractors linked to organized crime networks.
[SHANDONG HIGH SPEED GROUP: SERBIAN BALANCES]
• Combined 2025 Revenue: €196,000,000 across 10 registered subsidiaries.
• The Flagship Deficit: €10,700,000 net loss for China Shandong International Economic Ltd.
• Danube Corridor Inflation: Initially €337M ──► Now inflated to €524M (Delayed to late 2026).
• Belgrade-Novi Sad Axis: Initially €600M ──► Now borrowing up to €1.7 Billion (Delayed to 2030).
• Geopolitical Vehicle: Beijing's "Belt and Road Initiative" (BRI) pushing predatory loan frameworks.
The Anatomy of Direct Sourcing: The €1.3B “Vožd Karađorđe” Deal
The entrenchment of Shandong High Speed Group into the fabric of Serbian public spending was put on display in early May 2026. In the presence of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Chinese Ambassador Li Ming, the state finalized the executive contract for the “Vožd Karađorđe” Highway, a 90-kilometer artery designed to link central and eastern Serbia.
The project, valued at €1.3 billion, was handed over to Shandong through a direct, closed-door negotiation mechanism entirely stripped of transparent public procurement tenders. This process is legally immunized via the long-standing bilateral interstate agreement between Belgrade and Beijing, which effectively supersedes domestic anti-monopoly laws and EU candidate-state transparency baselines.
While President Vučić publicly lauded his “Chinese friends” for executing infrastructure goals in an “efficient and responsible manner,” objective financial metrics reveal chronic structural failure across Shandong’s active portfolios:
- The Danube Corridor Fiasco: Awarded to Shandong in 2021 for an initial €337 million, the high-speed route from Požarevac to Golubac has experienced a budget explosion, soaring to €524 million. Originally scheduled to open in 2024, the completion date has been officially deferred to late 2026.
- The Tripled Price Tag of the Zrenjanin Route: Construction on the Belgrade–Zrenjanin–Novi Sad highway commenced in 2023 with an estimated baseline cost of €600 million. The Serbian state budget has since adjusted its borrowing ceilings, allocating room for up to €1.7 billion in debt for this single axis, while pushing the completion horizon back to 2030. Construction registries indicate that Shandong has yet to receive concrete building permits for major segments, having only recently requested permits to establish concrete mixing plants and base camps.
The Fiscal Council’s Alarm: Unexplained Cost Inflation
This pattern of retroactive, multi-stage cost inflation has triggered sharp criticism from Serbia’s Fiscal Council, an independent statutory body that evaluates state macroeconomic policies.
[INFRASTRUCTURE COST-INCREMENT COMPARISON]
│
┌────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────┐
▼ ▼
[EUROPEAN UNION STANDARD] [SERBIAN CHINESE-BUILT CONTRACTS]
Average post-pandemic inflation adjustments Unexplained multi-stage budget escalations
and raw material spikes capped at ~20%. frequently doubling or tripling initial bids.
In its ongoing oversight reports, the Fiscal Council noted that while raw material and input costs have risen globally, the compounding price jumps observed across projects managed by Chinese firms under direct-deal arrangements defy typical market logic. The Council noted it remains “highly questionable” whether material shifts or minor route alterations can rationally justify the near-tripling of the Belgrade-Zrenjanin highway projections.
The Blacklist Pipeline: Partnering with Sanctioned Figures
Beyond non-transparent financial lines, Shandong High Speed’s operations have sparked international geopolitical friction due to its choice of local partners. Investigations confirm that with the formal regulatory sign-off of the Serbian Ministry of Construction, Shandong deliberately integrated entities onto its payroll that are actively blacklisted by the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
[THE US-SANCTIONED LOCAL PARTNERSHIP AXIS]
[China Shandong High Speed Group]
│
┌─────────────┴─────────────┐
▼ ▼
[Inkop d.o.o.] [Novi Pazar-Put]
Subcontractor for the Subcontractor for the
Danube Corridor. Valjevo-Lajkovac Highway.
│ │
└─────────────┬─────────────┘
▼
[Controlled by: Zvonko & Žarko Veselinović / Milan Radoičić]
• Under US OFAC Sanctions since 2021 for organized crime and corruption.
• Radoičić claimed responsibility for the 2023 armed assault in Banjska, Kosovo.
Neither the corporate leadership of Shandong nor the Serbian Ministry of Construction responded to press inquiries requesting clarification on the deployment of US-sanctioned firms to execute state-funded infrastructure.
The Broader Balkan Footprint: Secrecy in Bosnia and Montenegro
Shandong’s operational model in Serbia mirrors its strategy across the wider Western Balkan region, where it routinely leverages institutional weaknesses to secure opaque concession deals:
| Country / Region | Project Profile & Scope | Financial Status & Anomalies |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina (Republika Srpska) | Banja Luka–Prijedor Highway (40 km). Built under a 30-year state concession. | Contract remains classified. Despite supreme court rulings ordering disclosure, local ministries refused, stating “the Chinese side does not permit it.” Costs rose by €90 million; opening delayed to 2026. |
| Montenegro (Coastal Strip) | Budva–Tivat Airport Boulevard (16 km). | Initial contract set at €54 million. Failed its January 2026 completion deadline; machinery remains on-site with untransparent price revisions under review. |
| Montenegro (Adriatic Highway) | Budva Bypass Infrastructure Project. | Valued at €196 million. Granted to a Shandong-led consortium to alleviate southern coastal bottlenecks. |
Corruption Scandals and the Shadow of Novi Sad
The intense scrutiny surrounding Shandong’s regional presence comes at a time of severe institutional vulnerability for Chinese state firms in the Balkans. Shandong acted as a key subcontractor on the high-speed rail corridor from Novi Sad to Subotica (the Hungarian border)—a network dominated by the state consortium CRIC-CCCC.
Following the catastrophic structural collapse at the newly renovated Novi Sad railway station on November 1, 2024, which killed 16 people, the entire line became the subject of a criminal probe by the Serbian Special Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime. The ongoing anti-corruption dragnet, which focuses on cut corners, unapproved modifications, and bribery within the modernization works, has already led to the questioning and detention of two former high-ranking cabinet ministers, casting a permanent shadow over the legacy of China’s “Belt and Road” execution in Europe.
