site.btaSerbian President Meets Chinese Counterpart in Beijing, Invites Chinese Companies to Invest in Serbia

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday and invited Chinese companies to continue investing in Serbia, state broadcaster RTS reported.

Vucic said that Serbia considers China "a sincere friend that has provided support in times of economic, medical, and political hardship."

"Serbia cannot and will never forget this. Thank you very much for the fact that, thanks to your initiatives and the free trade agreement, our trade and exchange of services have never been greater," Vucic said, quoted by Tanjug.

The President also said that Serbia, together with its Chinese partners, had completed the section of the Belgrade-Budapest international railway line, which is to open to traffic in 15 days.

"Thank you for the many investments, and my big request to you is, if you can, help us with investments in the future as well," Vucic added.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said that China, sharing a “steel friendship” with Serbia, supports its efforts to preserve national unity and social stability, adding that the country’s government wants to work to further improve these relations.

At the beginning of the meeting with the Chinese President, Vucic said that “the world today is turbulent and changing, which makes it even more important to maintain unity and cooperation between the two countries.”

Vucic said that the Chinese people had fought for years and won one of their most significant victories in World War II. He added that the Serbian people had also fought hard against foreign aggression on their path to independence.

“Our two great nations fought in both Europe and Asia, made great sacrifices and contributed significantly to the victory over fascism,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said.

Earlier, the Serbian President met Zhao Leji, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. They discussed the countries' bilateral strategic partnership.

Former Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic (2012-2017) is part of the delegation accompanying Vucic during his meetings in the Chinese capital. He is there in his capacity as chair of the National Council for Coordination of Cooperation with the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China, RTS reports.

Vucic is on a visit to Beijing to mark the 80th anniversary of China's victory over Japan in World War II.