Kostic: Expansion of economic relations and confirmation of support for Serbia on the Kosovo issue during Vucic’s visit to China

Mijat Kostic from the organization New Third Way assessed that President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic’s visit to China is expected to bring confirmation of already existing bilateral agreements and an expansion of economic relations, but also that support regarding Kosovo will be voiced.

Kostic stated that Vucic’s visit to China could also mean additional investments.

“We saw that, for example, the volume of Chinese investments decreased over the past year. Some infrastructure projects previously carried out by China have now been taken over by other countries, such as Azerbaijan,” Kostic said.

He added that what is giving a certain positive momentum to renewed rapprochement with China is the fact that America has “eased up” regarding China, noting that the two countries have somewhat moved closer on the economic and bilateral level.

“Serbia no longer has that pressure to choose between two sides. In the long term it will have it, but in the current constellation, when Trump is showing a somewhat more lenient stance, then this may be the ideal moment for Serbia to once again confirm certain partnerships with China, without facing as much pressure from the West, primarily from Washington,” he said.

As he points out, China is also expected to confirm its position on Kosovo.

“China traditionally maintains a position of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries and supports such principles in the United Nations, and consequently China’s support for Serbia on the Kosovo issue has conditioned Serbia to pursue the One China policy, that is, not to recognize Taiwan, just as most countries in the world do not recognize it. In that sense, nothing new will happen, but that symbolic moment, in which China will probably publicly support Serbia regarding Kosovo, and in which Serbia will confirm its position that it considers Taiwan an inseparable part of China, will carry a certain political weight in a symbolic sense, although no legal consequences will arise from it. It is important now, when people may not be clear on how geopolitical developments will unfold, for everyone to publicly confirm their position in order to show the current picture of relations,” Kostic said.

President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic will pay an official visit to China from May 24 to May 28.