Serbia and China have established the Association for the Promotion of Economy, Trade, Culture, and Tourism, formed in line with the Chinese ‘Belt and Road’ initiative, according to Balkan Insight.
Serbian Minister of Culture, Maja Gojković, stated during the opening ceremony that the two countries have implemented over 50 activities within the ‘Belt and Road’ Initiative in the past ten years, mainly through festivals, fairs, and forums.
“Based on these successful events, we continue to strengthen the foundation of our cooperation. We have adopted a mid-term action plan for the implementation of the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative, and in the field of cultural heritage protection, we have signed an agreement to prevent theft, secret excavations, and illegal import and export of cultural goods. We plan to develop cooperation with Chinese provinces, starting from their most recognizable cultural capacities,” added Gojković.
Part of the ‘Belt and Road’ Initiative also involves strengthening cooperation with the Chinese Cultural Center in Belgrade.
Gojković mentioned that the Ministry of Culture has adopted a program with 20 projects for the Serbian Center in Beijing.
Serbia and China signed a free trade agreement during the third ‘Belt and Road’ International Cooperation Forum in Beijing in October 2023.
Simultaneously, Serbia and China signed an action plan for implementing the initiative by 2025 and a Memorandum of Cooperation in the field of economic development.
Similarly, agreements on the appointment of the Bank of China as the clearing bank for the yuan exchange, three commercial contracts with Chinese companies on transport infrastructure, an agreement on aligning apple exports from Serbia, and a commercial contract on the third phase of fixed network modernization in Serbia were also signed.
The Chinese ‘Belt and Road’ Initiative has had a significant impact in the Balkans. According to BIRN’s 2021 analysis, Serbia had at least 61 projects in various stages of completion, implemented by or in cooperation with Chinese contractors, totaling at least 18.7 billion euros over the past decade.
According to BIRN’s estimate, by the end of 2021, there were 135 projects worth at least 32 billion euros in the Balkans that were somehow connected to China.
Sign up for business updates & specials
