Serbian president says keen to expand infrastructural cooperation with China

OBRENOVAC, Serbia - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Monday that Chinese companies have made great progress on numerous infrastructural projects in Serbia and more are expected to come based on the good relations between the two countries,

He made this statement during his visit to the construction site of China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) near the city of Obrenovac.

Vucic toured the construction works of E763 on a bridge across Sava and Kolubara rivers together with Chinese ambassador to Serbia Li Manchang, and other officials.

They also watched the presentation of some Sino-Serbian infrastructural projects and were briefed on the progress of these projects.

The bridge is a part of a 17.6-kilometre long highway segment Surcin-Obrenovac that CCCC began building this March.

Vucic praised the importance of CCCC's project for the whole new E763 highway and announced once the segment is completed the vast area around it will become the most attractive industrial land.

"In two years, it is going to be the most exclusive industrial land here and this is of utmost importance both for Obrenovac, municipality of Surcin and for the whole of Belgrade," he predicted. He also invited Chinese investors and companies to start their business here.

Vucic said that besides great political relations, economic connections between China and Serbia are also getting stronger daily, illustrating the fact that in the first seven months of this year the trade balance between the two countries increased by 9 percent.

He continued that Chinese companies working on infrastructural projects in Serbia so far hired Serbian companies as contractors with a share from 46 to 49 percent.

He mentioned that a Chinese company is also going to complete 34 kilometers of railway from Belgrade to Stara Pazova, and 108 kilometers from Novi Sad to Subotica.

He praised the progress of works on the construction of additional block at the Kostolac thermal power plant, as well as the increased production at the Smederevo steel mill in the hands of the Chinese HBIS (Hebei Iron and Steel Group).

Serbian Minister of transport, construction and infrastructure Zorana Mihajlovic said that the Surcin-Obrenovac construction project can serve as an example due to the steady progress of construction works and the fact that everything is in line with the standards of the European Union.

"This is an important segment for this region and the whole of Serbia and we would not make a mistake if we claimed Serbia represents one of the most important partners of China, especially when it comes to infrastructure," she said, estimating the value of completed, on-going and planned projects at around $6 billion.

For his part, the Chinese ambassador said that the business cooperation between the two countries will increase together with the development of friendly relations between them.

"It is a great honor to be here, and this also obliges Chinese companies to achieve high quality in their work and at the same time to adhere to the Serbian laws and the agreements that we have," Li said.

Serbia's President of the National Council for cooperation with China and Russia Tomislav Nikolic said that the institution he represents will in future continue to contribute to the positive development of projects within the comprehensive strategic partnership between Serbia and China.

"The most important for us is that China, within its strategic vision of Europe - puts Serbia in the first place," he said.