Stefanovic: China has been supporting us all along regarding Kosovo and Metohija, partnership elevated to the highest level

Serbia's Ambassador to China, Maja Stefanovic, states that during the "historic visit" of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Belgrade, the comprehensive strategic partnership between Serbia and China was deepened and elevated to the highest level of relations between the two countries, which includes full support on issues of essential national interest for both countries.

Stefanovic told Kosovo Online that President Xi Jinping's visit to Serbia is truly of historic significance for Serbia and reminds that this was his second visit since 2016, and the first visit by a Chinese president to European countries in the last five years following the COVID pandemic.

She notes that the visit marked the continuity of the friendship between the two countries, contributed by the friendly relations between the two presidents - Xi Jinping and Aleksandar Vucic, as well as the continuity of intensive political dialogue.

In this regard, she recalls that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic participated in the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing last October.

"During the discussions, the exceptional political cooperation between the two countries was confirmed, which serves as the basis for enhancing all relations in all areas. During the visit, a joint statement was signed, further enhancing the relationship, i.e., the comprehensive strategic partnership established in 2016 is now deepened and elevated with the establishment of a Serbia-China community for a shared future in the new era," she said.

She explains that this represents the highest level of relations between the two countries and adds that this establishment of a community represents the first such type of relationship China has established with a country in Europe.

"It is about full support on issues of essential national interest for both countries. We can boast that all this time China has been supporting us concerning the issue of Kosovo and Metohija, and Serbia provides full support to the One-China principle," she states.

Ambassador Stefanovic highlights that the messages sent during the visit of the Chinese president to Belgrade were exceptionally strong.

She mentions that during the discussions, opinions were exchanged about the state and prospects of bilateral relations, and mutual readiness to further strengthen cooperation in all areas was expressed.

As she points out, this is evidenced by the signing of a total of 29 agreements, including a joint statement, covering all areas of mutual cooperation - from economy, judiciary, science, education, culture, and other areas.

"The focus was on economic cooperation, which especially in the last 10 years has seen exceptional development. Serbia is the country with the largest number of projects with China, especially in the areas of infrastructure and transport. Now we have further strengthened this cooperation through discussions and plans for new projects in new areas, thus expecting new projects in the fields of innovation and high technology," says the ambassador.

A significant impetus to economic cooperation, she adds, will be given by the Free Trade Agreement, which will come into effect on July 1, signed last October in Beijing, and which is expected to significantly enhance Serbian exports to China, as well as reduce the deficit not only Serbia faces in trade cooperation with China but also nearly all other countries worldwide.

In this sense, Stefanovic says, particularly significant is the approval of exports of Serbian agricultural products to China.

She specifies that this time, protocols were signed for the export of blueberries, dried plums, and, very importantly for Serbia, the ban on chicken exports to China was lifted.

Asked about the importance of China's support for Serbia on the international stage regarding territorial integrity and sovereignty, as well as other issues at the United Nations, Ambassador Stefanovic says it is of exceptional importance.

"It is of exceptional importance because it is about a country that is one of the main powers on the global stage, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and a country that, especially in recent years, is known for a large number of initiatives that have been launched, aiming to strengthen global governance and international cooperation. Like Serbia, China advocates for multilateralism and strengthening the role of small countries, so Chinese support not only to Serbia but to a large number of small countries is of essential importance - to make their voice heard better at the UN," stated Stefanovic.

Regarding Chinese initiatives, Stefanovic highlights the Belt and Road Initiative, which has evolved from primarily an economic initiative to a comprehensive one, in which Serbia has been participating since 2013, from its inception.

Stefanovic points out that this particular initiative has brought significant benefits to Serbia in the area of economic cooperation and investment because China has been the largest investor in Serbia over the last three years, accounting for the highest influx of direct foreign investments from China.

She adds that Chinese companies investing in Serbia have also been the biggest exporters from Serbia in recent years.

"With these investments, a large number of jobs have been preserved, which I think speaks volumes about their impact on the country's economic development. Besides the Belt and Road Initiative, in recent years, President Xi Jinping has also launched initiatives for global development, global security, and civilization, and all these initiatives contribute to the development of cooperation on a multilateral scale and better connectivity among countries," she states.

Speaking about the coverage by Chinese media of Xi Jinping's visit to Serbia, the ambassador says that they paid great attention to the visit and the relations in an affirmative manner.

The media attention, she adds, was not only during the visit itself but also in the days leading up to it. "Even a message from President Xi to the workers at the Smederevo Steel Plant was published, there were numerous interviews with our officials, among which interviews with President Aleksandar Vucic were particularly popular; his last interview, according to the latest data from a few days ago, was watched by more than 300 million people, so the visit and the relations between Serbia and China were indeed given significant and very affirmative coverage," says Stefanovic.

During the visit, she adds, not only in the official Chinese media but also on social networks, it was one of the main news stories.

Ambassador Stefanovic notes that the significance of media cooperation is evidenced by the fact that a Chinese media group, representing the community of the most significant Chinese news agencies and other media groups, has signed a large number of agreements both with the Ministry of Information and other institutions in Serbia.

This testifies, as the ambassador states, to further intensification of cooperation in that area.

Serbia's Ambassador to China, Maja Stefanovic, states that during the "historic visit" of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Belgrade, the comprehensive strategic partnership between Serbia and China was deepened and elevated to the highest level of relations between the two countries, which includes full support on issues of essential national interest for both countries.

Stefanovic told Kosovo Online that President Xi Jinping's visit to Serbia is truly of historic significance for Serbia and reminds that this was his second visit since 2016, and the first visit by a Chinese president to European countries in the last five years following the COVID pandemic.

She notes that the visit marked the continuity of the friendship between the two countries, contributed by the friendly relations between the two presidents - Xi Jinping and Aleksandar Vucic, as well as the continuity of intensive political dialogue.

In this context, Ambassador Stefanovic reminds us that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic participated in the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing last October.

"During the discussions, exceptional political cooperation between the two countries was confirmed, which serves as the basis for enhancing all relationships in all areas. During the visit, a joint statement was also signed which further improved relations, namely the comprehensive strategic partnership established in 2016 has now been deepened and elevated with the establishment of a Serbia-China community for a shared future in the new era," she said.

She explains that this represents the highest level of relations between the two countries and adds that this establishment of a community represents the first such type of relationship China has established with a country in Europe.

"It's about full support on issues of essential national interest for both countries. We can boast, all this time, that China has been supporting us regarding the issue of Kosovo and Metohija, and Serbia provides full support to the One-China principle," she states.

Ambassador Stefanovic emphasizes that the messages sent during the visit of the Chinese president to Belgrade were exceptionally strong.

She notes that during the discussions, opinions were exchanged about the state and prospects of bilateral relations, as well as the mutual readiness to further strengthen cooperation in all areas.

As she indicates, this is evidenced by the signing of a total of 29 agreements, including a joint statement, covering all areas of mutual cooperation - from the economy, judiciary, science, education, culture, and other areas.

"The focus was on economic cooperation, which especially in the last 10 years has seen remarkable development. Serbia is the country with the most projects with China, particularly in the fields of infrastructure and transport. We have now further strengthened this cooperation through discussions and plans for new projects in new areas, thus expecting new projects in the fields of innovation and high technology," states the ambassador.

A significant impetus to economic cooperation, she adds, will be given by the Free Trade Agreement which will come into effect on July 1, signed last October in Beijing, and which is expected to significantly enhance Serbian exports to China, but also reduce the deficit not only Serbia faces in trade cooperation with China but also nearly all other countries worldwide.

In this sense, Stefanovic says, particularly significant is the approval of exports of Serbian agricultural products to China.

She specifies that this time, protocols were signed for the export of blueberries, dried plums, and, very importantly for Serbia, the ban on chicken exports to China was lifted.

Asked about the importance of China's support for Serbia on the international stage regarding territorial integrity and sovereignty, as well as other issues at the United Nations, Ambassador Stefanovic says it is of exceptional importance.

"It is of exceptional importance because it is about a country that is one of the main powers on the global stage, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and a country that, especially in recent years, is known for a large number of initiatives that have been launched, aiming to strengthen global governance and international cooperation. Like Serbia, China advocates for multilateralism and strengthening the role of small countries, so Chinese support not only to Serbia, but to a large number of small countries is of essential importance - to make their voice heard better at the UN," Stefanovic noted.

Regarding Chinese initiatives, Stefanovic highlights the Belt and Road Initiative which has grown from primarily an economic initiative to a comprehensive one, and Serbia has been participating in it since 2013, from its inception.

Stefanovic points out that this initiative has brought significant benefits to Serbia particularly in the area of economic cooperation and investment, as China has been the largest investor in Serbia over the last three years, accounting for the highest influx of direct foreign investments.

She adds that Chinese companies that have invested in Serbia have also been the largest exporters from Serbia in recent years.

"With these investments, a large number of jobs have been preserved, which I think speaks volumes about their impact on the country's economic development. Besides the Belt and Road Initiative, in recent years President Xi Jinping has also launched initiatives for global development, global security, and civilization, and all these initiatives contribute to the development of cooperation on a multilateral scale and better connectivity among countries," she states.

Speaking about the coverage by Chinese media of Xi Jinping's visit to Serbia, the ambassador says that they paid great attention to the visit and the relations in an affirmative manner.

The media attention, she adds, was not only during the visit itself but also in the days leading up to it.

"Even a message from President Xi to the workers at the Smederevo Steel Plant was published, there were numerous interviews with our officials, among which interviews with President Aleksandar Vucic were particularly popular; his last interview, according to the latest data from a few days ago, was watched by more than 300 million people, so indeed great attention was paid to the visit and the relations between Serbia and China in a very affirmative tone," says Stefanovic.

During the visit, she adds, not only in the official Chinese media but also on social networks, it was one of the main news stories.

Ambassador Stefanovic notes that the significance of media cooperation is evidenced by the fact that a Chinese media group, representing the community of the most significant Chinese news agencies and other media groups, has signed a large number of agreements both with the Ministry of Information and other institutions in Serbia.

This testifies, as the ambassador states, to further intensification of cooperation in that area.