Brnabic with Xi Jinping (Photo: Serbian Government/Pedja Vuckovic)
Serbian Parliament speaker Ana Brnabic said on May 7 that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Serbia represented recognition of Belgrade’s independent foreign policy and would “give new momentum to the bilateral cooperation.”
Speaking to TV Happy, Brnabic said that Xi’s visit would bring many benefits to every citizen “individually,” stressing that the partnership with China was “of mutual interest.”
She recalled that during the previous regime, Serbia had not had “any relations with China,” while today, she said, China “is the biggest single investor” in Serbia.
“In 2023, China injected EUR1.37 billion in Serbia, or nearly one third of total investments in the country last year,” Brnabic said, adding that owing to Chinese company Zijin, Serbia “is today the second largest copper producer in Europe.”
She also said that a direct Belgrade-Shanghai air link would be established shortly.
Last year, bilateral trade stood at EUR5.6 billion, with Serbia’s exports worth EUR1.1 billion and imports amounting to EUR4.5 billion, meaning that Serbia reported bilateral trade deficit of EUR3.4 billion.
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