Serbia at the International "Belt and Road" Forum, a bridge between Europe and Asia

Writing for Kosovo Online: Željko Sain, Politika's special correspondent from Skopje

The third International "Belt and Road" Strategic Forum took place on October 17th and 18th in Beijing, with participation from officials from more than 130 countries and 30 international organizations. Serbia's President, Aleksandar Vucic, along with a delegation from the Serbian Government, attended the forum. During the event, an agreement on cooperation with China was signed, strengthening Serbia's economic prospects and further demonstrating its growing authority among the world's nations.

On the journey from Belgrade to Tirana, where the Brussels Agreement Summit was held, and then to Beijing, where they participated in the International "Belt and Road" Strategic Forum, Serbia secured a significant place at the negotiating table and strengthened economic ties between Europe and Asia, positioning itself once again as a bridge between these two continents.

President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic met with China's President Xi Jinping in Beijing, and they presided over the signing of a Free Trade Agreement between Serbia, a Balkan country with a population of only six million, and China, which, along with India, represents half of the world's population. This agreement is of paramount importance for Serbia's economic independence, as it will allow the country to import raw materials from China at "significantly lower customs tariffs" and export its products to the world's most populous country.

The strategic goal of Western Balkan countries, including Serbia, remains EU membership. However, as Western European policy remains indecisive about their accession, introducing new conditions that need to be met, Aleksandar Vucic is building his country's prosperity and the well-being of its citizens by strengthening friendships and economic cooperation with China, as well as within the "Open Balkan" Initiative. This approach has proven its benefits in terms of both economic achievements and the preservation of peace in the Balkans.

While the European Union has repeatedly disappointed Western Balkan countries, particularly those of Slavic origin (consider the fate of the Prespa Agreement, the Berlin Initiative, and the Minsk Agreements), China has demonstrated a pragmatic interest that extends to the territories of Slavic nations. We won't delve into the reasons behind the disagreement between Western European policy and the communist ideology, which treats all countries strengthening a healthy and peaceful world politics through the economy on equal terms. This principle aligns with the UN Charter and is supported by countries, including China, which played an essential role in the founding of the United Nations, alongside countries that unjustly bombed the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

The International "Belt and Road" Strategic Forum and the Berlin Process emerged roughly at the same time. Unlike the hypocritical European policy, on which Western Balkan countries have burned themselves, China pursues a consistent and pragmatic policy based on patience and wisdom. As such, it engages with the Old Continent, where the Western Balkans, and especially Serbia, hold a special place. This is largely due to the friendly policy maintained by the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia with both Beijing and New Delhi, through both communist and non-aligned policies, which contributed to maintaining a balance of peace in the world. Furthermore, China respects the traditional values upheld by Serbia, a country whose diplomatic mission was hit during the bombing, resulting in the loss of Chinese citizens serving in the diplomatic service of this friendly nation.

China, as a permanent member of the UN with veto power, used this summit to highlight the importance of all bilateral and multilateral agreements being based on international public law, as well as respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty – principles that the European Union selectively follows. China's advantage over Western Europe also lies in the fact that it has no rivals economically or politically. Serbia also maintains a strong relationship with India, in contrast to many Western countries that do not respect Serbia's territorial integrity and sovereignty, including Germany.

Western European policies have, in a hegemonic manner, separated a part of Serbia and continue to pursue a neocolonialist approach towards Serbia, led primarily by Germany.

However, realizing the direction the economic bloc is heading under political pressures, Germany has awakened and, under the leadership of Scholz, revitalized the Berlin Process, notably through Tirana. It's no coincidence that Albanian Prime Minister Rama hosted the Summit, assuming a leadership role in kick-starting economic integration in the Western European markets. It is worth recalling that Rama and Vucic, through the "Open Balkan" Initiative, established historic friendly relations between Albania and Serbia. The Tirana Summit confirmed that the aspirations of "Open Balkan" and the results of this initiative are precisely the same as those emphasized by the Berlin Initiative.

However, we cannot ignore the fact that the Berlin Initiative is a regional government initiative launched by former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, while "Open Balkan" is a regional project led by Serbian President Vucic, Albanian Prime Minister Rama, and former Macedonian Prime Minister Zaev, whose role has now been taken over by current Prime Minister Kovacevski. The "Open Balkan" has strengthened the pillars of peace in the region, while Germany and the Berlin Initiative member states have focused on preparing Ukraine for a war with Russia.

The focus on peace, which should be pursued at all costs and from which Serbia has never wavered, has finally been embraced by Germany as well, as it activates its process and sets the terminology in place at the very moment when Beijing has provided significant financial support for projects in Serbia, particularly for infrastructure projects that connect European Union countries.

Therefore, in Beijing, Serbia demonstrated its orientation towards European integration, rejecting hegemonic implications and emphasizing that peaceful dialogue is the unique path to European integration for both Serbia and other countries in the former Yugoslav region, alongside Albania. Both the Berlin Process Summit in Tirana and the Third International "Belt and Road" Strategic Forum in Beijing concluded successfully. However, caution should be exercised concerning European politics and the potential emergence of a new hypocritical move that could disappoint the Western Balkan countries, which continue to maintain a unified stance towards this European community.