New messages about intensifying cooperation with China were also conveyed this week in Belgrade.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić thanked his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, for “raising the relationship between the two countries to a strategic level.” Vučić mentioned that on September 9 in Belgrade, he discussed “many aspects of the partnership” with one of the secretaries of the Chinese Communist Party, Lin Vu.
Lin also met with other Serbian officials, and alongside Prime Minister Miloš Vučević, they visited construction work on a highway in northern Serbia being built by a Chinese company.
On the same day, Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dačić stated at a security forum in China that Serbia, “in the face of global instability, has chosen to further strengthen its cooperation with a proven friend—China.”
“This is not surprising, given the leniency that the European Union has shown towards Serbia’s tendency to sit on more than one chair,” says Majda Ruge from the European Council on Foreign Relations, speaking to Radio Free Europe.
Due to its support for China and business dealings with the country, Serbia faces continuous criticism from the United States and the European Union, which it aspires to join.
However, this has not affected the further development of relations between Belgrade and Beijing—both countries agree on important political issues.
China, on one hand, does not recognize Kosovo’s independence, while Serbia, on the other hand, supports China’s policies.
Dačić, also Serbia’s Deputy Prime Minister, stated at the Public Security Forum in the Chinese city of Lianyungang that Belgrade and Beijing are connected by a “strong friendship,” which “has been forged through intensive economic cooperation, trust, and understanding.”
On the day of the security forum, China announced new military exercises with Russia.
The Chinese Ministry of Defense said that the joint drills would take place this month in the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk, off the coast of Russia.
“The exercises aim to enhance the level of strategic cooperation between the Chinese and Russian militaries and to strengthen their capabilities to jointly combat security threats,” said the Chinese ministry.
In July, the two countries held joint exercises in the waters around China’s southern province of Guangdong.
The maneuvers were conducted during the week when NATO leaders warned that China had become a “major supporter” of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
China-West Relations Not Affecting Serbia
The worsening relations between liberal Western countries and authoritarian regimes from the East, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have not impacted the further development of Serbia’s relations with China and Russia, according to Stefan Vladislavlev from the Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence.
“But, if there is further escalation, Serbia will be required to determine its strategic objectives and orientation in its foreign policy development,” he adds.
Serbian and Chinese officials confirm their “strong friendship” with a range of infrastructure and other projects that China is developing in Serbia.
Serbia is one of the countries involved in China’s “Belt and Road” initiative, a state project initiated by President Xi Jinping to advance China’s influence in the West.
Continued Economic Cooperation
While Dačić was in China, officials in Belgrade welcomed Lin Vu, Secretary of the Communist Party Committee of Shandong Province, on September 9.
This was just one of several meetings between high-level Serbian officials and representatives of the Chinese one-party system.
Vučić said he discussed current projects, future cooperation, and plans in the field of development and modernization of infrastructure with Vu.
Vu and Vučević visited the construction of the highway in northern Serbia, connecting Belgrade, the industrial city of Zrenjanin, and Serbia’s second-largest city, Novi Sad.
This is the first project under the Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement between China and Serbia in the field of infrastructure, planned and designed by a Chinese company.
Why Chinese Projects Are Controversial
Serbian officials have also announced the opening of a tire factory by the Chinese company Linglong, which faced allegations of labor exploitation during its construction.
The Serbian Prime Minister stated that the tire factory is an important investment for Serbia and that it is expected to “adhere to the highest environmental standards,” as well as “protect workers’ rights.”
“Despite our steel friendship and our shared future, the state must oversee the implementation of the highest environmental standards and, above all, the protection of workers’ rights. We must set equal rules for everyone,” said Vučević.
Through a resolution in 2021, the European Parliament called for investigations into Serbia due to suspicions of labor exploitation in the construction of the Linglong factory—claims that the company denied.
Chinese projects in Serbia have also raised concerns among European parliamentarians due to the lack of transparency regarding their environmental impact.
Various infrastructure projects are being built in Serbia with Chinese investments—highways, bridges, railways, and power plants.
Over the years, China has become Serbia’s second most important trading partner, after Germany, mainly through the purchase of the Steelworks in Smederevo and copper and gold mines in Bor.
At the same time, Serbia’s borrowing from China is increasing.
Lack of Strong Response from Brussels
“If Europe seriously considers its geostrategic orientation, it should address this relationship [between Serbia and China] more decisively and hold Serbia accountable,” says Ruge from the European Council on Foreign Relations.
Serbia has faced criticism from Brussels for its support of China, including voting against statements condemning the treatment of Uighurs in the Chinese province of Xinjiang.
The Serbian government has also attracted the attention of Washington and Brussels for purchasing drones and missile defense systems from China, as well as thousands of surveillance systems with facial recognition capabilities from the Chinese company Huawei.
A stronger reaction to the further development of Serbia-China relations is missing and is not expected for several reasons, says Vladislavlev from the Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence.
“The EU’s official position regarding China is one of risk reduction. Measures and decisions have been aimed at limiting negative impacts on the EU and have never referred to a complete rupture of relations,” he says.
Another reason, according to him, is that even within the EU itself, there is no unified approach to developing relations with China.
“Countries like France and Germany, whose economies heavily depend on the placement of goods in the Chinese market and Chinese goods coming into their markets, are not ready to take a tougher stance towards Beijing and thus tie the hands of the EU as well,” says Vladislavlev.
Serbia has strengthened its relations with China since the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) of Aleksandar Vučić came to power in 2012.
Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Belgrade in May of this year for the second time in ten years.
In 2016, China and Serbia signed a declaration on strategic partnership and, seven years later, an agreement on free trade.
