China and Serbia signed an agreement on Wednesday to build a “common future”, making this Balkan country the first in Europe to agree to such a partnership with Beijing.
After their meeting in Belgrade, Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić announced that they would “deepen and elevate the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Serbia” and “building a new era of community with a shared future between China and Serbia.”
Xi launched the expression “community for a shared future” more than 10 years ago. Although not a specific initiative, experts believe it has an underlying meaning as another term for an alliance.
“Eight years ago, Serbia became China’s first comprehensive strategic partner in the Central and Eastern European region. Today, Serbia is the first European country to build a community with a shared future with China, fully reflecting the strategic, special and high level of China-Serbia relations.” Xi Jinping said at a press conference after signing the agreement.
Aleksandar Vučić said that the two countries ““translate from strategic relations, thanks to which we managed to strengthen our bilateral ties, to the common future of our two countries.”
“This is the highest possible form of cooperation between two countries and I am proud to have been able to sign this agreement today as President of Serbia,” he added.
Signs of support for China were visible throughout the Serbian capital. A huge Chinese flag was placed on a skyscraper along a road leading into the city from the airport. Smaller Chinese and Serbian flags were visible in the city center and along a highway.
Xi Jinping arrived in Serbia on a symbolic date: the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade by American planes during the NATO air war in Kosovo, in which three Chinese citizens were killed .
This incident helped forge close political ties between China and Serbia.
Chinese companies operate Serbia’s largest copper mine and steel mill, and are also building dozens of roads and highways across the country, as well as a railway to northern neighbor Hungary.
Serbia candidate for the EU
It is not yet clear how the EU will react to Serbia moving even closer to China. Russia’s war against Ukraine has made the integration of six Western Balkan countries, including Serbia, into the European Union a priority for the 27 member states.
China has claimed neutrality in the Ukraine conflict, but has refused to call the Russian assault an invasion and has been accused of boosting Russia’s military capacity. Serbia condemned the Russian invasion, but refused to join international sanctions against Moscow.
Xi will visit Hungary later Wednesday. Like Serbia, Hungary is considered one of China’s friendliest partners in Europe.
In 2014, Hungary and Serbia reached a deal with Beijing to upgrade the railway between their capitals, Budapest and Belgrade, as part of a “Belt and Road” plan aimed at connecting the Chinese-controlled port of Piraeus in Greece to the south, the entry point for Chinese goods to central and eastern Europe.
The more than $2 billion project is expected to be completed in 2026, after numerous delays.
In 2022, shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Serbia received a semi-secret delivery of a sophisticated Chinese anti-aircraft system carried by Chinese Air Force Y-20 transport planes.
The delivery of weapons over the territory of at least two NATO member states, Turkey and Bulgaria, was seen by experts as a demonstration of China’s growing global reach.