A railroad from Belgrade to the north of the country, built with the help of Chinese engineers, is just one of many examples of the so-called ‘ironclad friendship’ between China and Serbia. CGTN’s Aljoša Milenković reports.
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00:00This is a part of a railroad from Belgrade to the north of the country to
00:05the border with Hungary. It has been operating for over a year now facilitating
00:10thousands of trains and millions of passengers and it was mostly built by
00:15Chinese companies. Currently the trains only operate up to Novi Sad, Serbia's
00:21second largest city, but very soon they will travel to the Hungarian border and
00:26in a couple of years to Budapest as well. It is just one example of successful
00:33collaboration between China and Serbia. There are many other examples including
00:38a tire production company, a steel mill, a copper mine, highway construction and
00:43the list goes on and on and on. The visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping in May
00:512024 to Belgrade was another example of the so-called ironclad friendship
00:56between the two countries. Over 30 agreements were signed during his second
01:01visit to Serbia in the past eight years and it laid the foundation for new
01:06milestones. 2024 marks a year when we have started implementing the free trade
01:13agreement between our two countries. In 2024 China has become number one foreign
01:18investor in Serbia. Chinese companies continue to participate and play a major
01:24role in our economic modernization. They play a significant role in our
01:28infrastructural projects, transport projects, energy projects. It is not just
01:34the economy that connects the two countries. They work hand-in-hand on many
01:38international political issues too. Issues surrounding Taiwan and Kosovo
01:43and Metohija are on top of that list. I believe the year of 2024 will be
01:49recorded in history of China-Serbia relations. China and Serbia has
01:56established a community for shared future. Serbia has become the first
02:03country in Europe that has established such high-level relations with China.
02:10There's also been measures introduced to boost tourism. Several more direct
02:15flights between Serbia and China were launched including flights to Belgrade
02:20from Tianjin, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. 2024 was a successful year for
02:27both countries but they've set the bar for the next year even higher.
02:32Aljoša Milenković, CGTN, Belgrade