Minister of Internal and Foreign Trade Tomislav Momirović said at the „Communication, Integration, Ecosystem“ conference organized by the Chinese companies CRBC and CCCC that China is the second largest investor in Serbia in the last 10 years and that our country is committed to strengthening ties with Chinese partners.
Momirović stated that in recent years the cooperation between Serbia and China has significantly intensified and that a number of successful infrastructure and other projects have been implemented.
He reminded that the first round of negotiations for the conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement between the two countries, which will contribute to further strengthening of trade cooperation, was recently completed, Blic reported.
“The agreement on free trade between Serbia and China will enable even greater export of our companies to the Chinese market. Exports to China have reached an enviable 1.3 billion dollars a year,” said Momirović.
The minister stated that Chinese companies invested 4.2 billion euros in the economy of our country and thus played a key role in the development and modernization of infrastructure, as well as in the improvement of the overall economic situation in Serbia.
He added that anotherr in a series of projects that is a symbol of friendship and strategic partnership between the two countries is the “Mihajlo Pupin” industrial park in Belgrade, which, he said, will become a place where new ideas and new partnerships are created.
“Mihajlo Pupin Industrial Park has a huge potential to improve trade relations between our countries. “Serbian companies will have the opportunity to connect with the Chinese market, and Chinese companies will have the opportunity to expand their business in Serbia and use our favorable geographical position as a bridge between Europe and Asia,” said Momirović.
The Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Serbia, Chen Bo, stated that the Chinese company “China Road and Bridge Corporation” (CRBC) was one of the first Chinese infrastructure companies to enter the Serbian market, recalling that the construction of the Pupin Bridge marked the beginning of cooperation between China and Serbia in the field infrastructure.
“In the meantime, CRBC has been actively involved in the construction of infrastructure projects in Serbia, such as sections of the Miloš the Great highway, the Belgrade-Budapest high-speed railway and the Clean Serbia project. This company donated funds and materials for the fight against the pandemic as well as for cultural events, thereby contributing to the cooperation between our two countries and strengthening our friendship,” Chen Bo said.
She added that the Chinese-Serbian industrial park project is a good platform for attracting Chinese investors to Serbia and that it is of great importance for economic growth as well as for future cooperation between the two countries.