Selaković: Serbia is proud of its exceptional relations with China

Minister Selaković said that Serbia was fully committed to further improvement and strengthening of political relations through meetings at the high and highest level and reinforcement of all forms of cooperation with China. He emphasised that Serbia was proud of the exceptional relations, comprehensive strategic partnership and steel friendship between the two countries, which were at their highest point in history.

Conveying the greetings of President Aleksandar Vučić to Chinese President Xi Jinping, Selaković expressed his hope that we would soon again be able to receive the President of China for an official visit to Serbia.

Minister Selaković said he was pleased with the establishment of a direct air route of the Chinese company Hainan Airlines between Belgrade and Beijing, and that he believed that this would additionally bring our two peoples closer and reinforce cooperation between business communities. In his words, establishment of a direct air route, as a result of an agreement between the Presidents of Serbia and China, was another strong confirmation of their close relations, friendship and exceptional cooperation. He noted that a direct flight of the Air Serbia company would be established between the two countries as soon as possible.

Renewing his expressions of gratitude to China for its support to the Serbian positions regarding Kosovo and Metohija, he confirmed that Serbia continued to support the One China policy and the One Country, Two Systems principle, as well as China’s fight against separatism.  He particularly highlighted the importance of stating China’s positions before the UN Security Council, during the discussions about reports on the activities of UNMIK, where China had consistently insisted on the observance of international law and supported Serbia’s positions. 

In addition, he informed Ambassador Chen on a series of unilateral actions by Priština which could destabilise the situation in the field, and emphasised that Serbia was committed to peace and political stability in the region.

Minister Selaković also expressed his pleasure with the cooperation between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs, and his belief that the updated Protocol of Cooperation, signed during the visit of Minister Wang Yi in last October, would contribute both to a better cooperation between the two ministries and to intensifying overall relations between the two countries.

He particularly noted the importance of further improvement of the economic cooperation, recalling the fact that China had become Serbia’s second most important partner, and that as many as three of the five largest Serbian exporters in 2021 were owned by Chinese investors. In this regard, he expressed his hope that the Free Trade Agreement, initiated during a conversation of the two Presidents in this February, would be coordinated and signed as soon as possible, and added that Serbia had already been intensively working on it.