Steel friendship and strategic partnership between Serbia and China

 

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Nikola Selaković, talked today with the State Counselor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, Wang Yi.

 

Minister Selaković expressed satisfaction with the first bilateral visit of Minister Wang to Serbia, although the head of Chinese diplomacy had previously visited our country as a member of the delegations of the Chinese prime minister and president. This is also the first bilateral visit of the head of Chinese diplomacy to Belgrade after more than ten years. He emphasized that Serbia and China are bound by a steel friendship and a comprehensive strategic partnership, as well as mutual support in issues of essential national interest.

 

"I am glad that, despite the challenges that the whole world is facing due to the Covid-19 pandemic, our bilateral relations are developing unhindered, and that we have managed to preserve the intensity of political dialogue and exchange of visits at a high level", Selaković said.

 

He emphasized that Serbia is proud of the exceptional bilateral relations with China, which are given a special dimension by the close and friendly relations between the presidents of Serbia and China, Aleksandar Vučić and Xi Jinping.

 

"Our wish is that, despite the delay that occurred due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the announced visit of the Chinese president to Serbia will soon be realized", Selaković said.

 

Speaking about the cooperation between the two ministries of foreign affairs, Selaković pointed out that it is very good, expressing expectation that the Protocol on cooperation between the two ministries, which was signed today, will contribute to its further strengthening. He also mentioned that it would be of great importance to hold bilateral political consultations at the level of deputy ministers as soon as possible, as well as consultations in the field of consular cooperation.

 

The head of Serbian diplomacy emphasized that we highly appreciate China's consistent position and support for Serbia's territorial integrity and sovereignty, especially thanking them for their clear support in the UN and other international organizations and institutions. At the same time, the minister emphasized that Serbia strongly supports the policy of "one China" and the principle of "one country – two systems".

 

Minister Selaković pointed out that Serbia provides active and strong support to the global "Belt and Road" initiative, as well as the mechanism of cooperation between China and CEEC.

Selaković said that Serbia supports every inclusive initiative that encourages global development and provides equal opportunities to all countries, regardless of their size and population, and in that spirit, supports the "Global Development Initiative", which was presented by Chinese President Xi Jinping in his speech at the 76th session of the UN General Assembly. He added that we are convinced that the mentioned initiative will contribute to the further strengthening of multilateralism, a just international order and peaceful development, and for the benefit of all humanity.

 

When it comes to economic cooperation, Selaković said that China is the most important trade partner of Serbia in Asia, and expressed satisfaction that our exchange is growing steadily, especially emphasizing that trade between the two countries has tripled in the last five years.

Selaković especially said that we are happy with the successful work of Chinese companies in Serbia, work on joint projects in the field of energy and infrastructure, expressing expectation that there will be new investments of Chinese companies.

 

The State Counselor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of China, Wang Yi, pointed out that it was a great honor and pleasure for him to visit Serbia again, and thanked for the hospitality shown to him personally and the Chinese delegation.

 

"You are a young, very successful politician in the political life of Serbia. As the minister of foreign affairs, you are making a great contribution to the development and strengthening of our relations and steel friendship", Wang said, emphasizing that this was also his impression from the first meeting with the head of Serbian diplomacy, during Minister Selaković's visit to Guiyang in May this year.

 

"We met then and established a good working relationship, you sent me an invitation to visit and, as we agreed, I came to Serbia", Wang said. He emphasized that the confirmation of the extraordinary relations between the two countries is also seen in the fact that mutual visits, of Minister Selaković to China, as well as his current visit to Serbia, were realized in a period of less than half a year, which also testifies to the importance that both countries attach to mutual relations and partnership.

 

"Our side highly appreciates the traditional friendship, which has withstood various temptations, as well as challenges and changes at the international level", Wang said, adding that the traditional friendship between Serbia and China was renewed under the strong leadership of presidents Vučić and Xi.

 

"China will always be a loyal partner to Serbia. The goal of my arrival is to maintain the intensity of the in-depth strategic dialogue with the Serbian leadership and to further improve the overall cooperation", Wang said.