Vucic: China a reliable partner to all who respect international law and the UN Charter

President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic began his official multi-day visit to China with a tour of the Great Wall of China, from where he stated that China is a reliable partner to all those who respect international law and the Charter of the United Nations.

“China has become a gravitational force of stability. From China, you can always expect a desire and a commitment to peace, stable policies, and never surprises or daily, weekly, or monthly policy shifts. China is a reliable partner — to us and a friend — but also a partner to everyone in the world who wishes to be guided by respect for international law, the UN Charter, and United Nations resolutions,” Vucic said.

He added that it is difficult to find a country against which so little, or even nothing at all, can be held as a criticism in the way it can with China.

“Of course, the same goes for Serbia, but we are a small country and our strength is not as great as China’s. Still, I am proud that we have adhered to the principles of international law and that, unlike 90 percent of countries, we can truly take pride in that,” President Vucic stated.

He added that he believes Serbia can accomplish much more alongside and together with China and expressed confidence in the success of the visit.

Asked about speculation that Serbia could acquire from China a system similar to the Russian S-400 system, Vucic declined to comment directly, but emphasized that Serbia is continuing to strengthen its armed forces and that Chinese weaponry is the best.

“I would rather not speak about such matters. We have developed military-technical cooperation with China and we will continue strengthening the country. I do not wish to discuss the details of the talks, but today everyone is using Chinese equipment. China has changed and advanced at an incredible pace. It also possesses extraordinary weapons that we currently cannot afford,” Vucic said.

He indicated that the Serbian Armed Forces are very strong and will become even stronger, adding that this would not be the case if a significant portion of the equipment did not come precisely from China.

“Even during the brief conflict between India and Pakistan, the absolute dominance of Chinese weapons and military equipment was clearly visible. Yet they were also very careful not to humiliate anyone else, because they take even that into account,” the Serbian president remarked.

Asked whether such a statement could provoke reactions from neighboring countries, Vucic replied that there was no reason for that, because Serbia has no intention of attacking anyone.

“We are doing nothing against our neighbors. We are not the ones forming military alliances… We are friends with everyone and we do not intend to attack anyone. Everything we do, we do so that our country remains free and independent, and so that we can remain masters in our own home,” Vucic said.

In honor of President Vucic’s visit, members of the Serbian National Folk Dance Ensemble National Ensemble Kolo performed several traditional Serbian folk dances at the Great Wall of China.