The final training exercise for the special police units of Serbia and China took place in Guangzhou, the capital of the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, announced the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) on September 11.
The training was attended by Serbia’s Minister of Internal Affairs Ivica Dačić, who is on an official visit to China, Tian Yonghao, Deputy Director of the Public Security Bureau of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, and Liu Guozhou, Deputy Governor of Guangdong Province and Director of Guangdong Provincial Police. According to the Serbian MIA, the exercise included 13 Serbian police officers and 47 Chinese officers, during which the special forces of both countries demonstrated sniper skills, vehicle and object checks with the help of service dogs, criminal detection, and assault tactics.
The exercise also showcased actions for breaking up demonstrations and responding to public order disturbances.
This is not the first training involving Serbian and Chinese police. In 2019, a training exercise was held with the Serbian MIA and the special police units of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security from Henan Province at the HBIS-owned ironworks in Smederevo, Serbia. The two countries also have an agreement for joint police patrols since 2019.
On September 11, 2024, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Internal Affairs Ivica Dačić participated in a joint training of Serbian and Chinese special police forces in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, China.
The announcement states that Dačić visited the Serbian officers who, along with their Chinese counterparts, are participating in joint police patrols in Guangzhou.
“Six Serbian police officers are involved in the patrols, which will last for a month and will also be held in other southern Chinese provinces, such as Hainan and Zhejiang,” the MIA statement said.
The aim of the joint patrols, as announced, is to support Serbian citizens in the People’s Republic of China, assist tourists, and create a safe tourist environment.
The Memorandum of Understanding that paved the way for the joint police patrols between Serbia and China was signed in May 2019, and the joint patrols began operations in September of the same year.
Serbian Minister of Internal Affairs Ivica Dačić shows an article about the joint police patrols, published in China Daily, on September 10, 2024.
In Serbia, joint patrols are present in Belgrade, Novi Sad, and Smederevo, the city where most of the iron owned by Chinese interests is located.
Under the 2016 agreement, Chinese citizens do not need a visa to enter Serbia, and the same applies to Serbian citizens traveling to China. Serbia is the only European country with a liberal visa policy with China.
Serbia is one of the countries participating in the “Belt and Road” initiative – a Chinese state project initiated by President Xi Jinping, aiming to penetrate the Western market.
Due to the intensified cooperation with China, especially in defense and infrastructure projects, Belgrade has faced criticism from Washington and Brussels on several occasions. As a candidate country for EU membership, Serbia is expected to gradually align its foreign and security policies with European standards.
