Chinese investments and jobs boost appeal in Europe: Forbes Serbia

Skeptics see Chinese President Xi Jinping’s trip to Europe this week as an effort to build support in a region historically close to the United States. But on the ground in Serbia, one of the three countries Xi is visiting, the focus is more on the potential economic benefits of the relationship with China, such as infrastructure and business investment. This is an area that is welcomed by local politicians and citizens alike, said the editor-in-chief of Forbes Serbia. Ivan Ladak said in an interview.

Speaking by phone from Belgrade, Ladak said it was better for Serbian leaders to announce new infrastructure projects with China that would be built in a relatively short period of time than to engage in protracted discussions with European bureaucracies. It’s easy.”

“From the point of view of the general public, it is better to develop in Chinese. Of course, for them, it is better to have expressways, and it is better not to have them, so they welcome this.” Ladak said investment in China by both state-owned and private companies is also welcomed in terms of revitalizing manufacturing and creating jobs.

China, the world’s second-largest country with a population of 1.4 billion, is seeking growth and influence globally following its explosive growth in recent decades, and capital inflows to landlocked Serbia have led to an expansion in Asia. The economic powerhouse has become one of the country’s largest foreign powers. investors.

The contrast between China and Serbia is striking. Serbia’s population is approximately 7 million, less than one-third of the population of Shanghai alone. Serbia’s income per capital is less than half that of Shanghai. It is worth noting that both countries are trying to maintain relations with Russia during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

President Xi visited the country on Wednesday as part of a European tour of France and Hungary. The Chinese leader met with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, who said: “Today we are writing history.” According to media, the two countries signed 29 agreements in Belgrade this week. President Xi also used this visit to^th The anniversary of the US bombing of the Chinese embassy in the Balkans in 1999. The United States said this was a mistake and apologized.

Over the next quarter century, China’s investment in once economically lagging Serbia “reached the level of investment from all 27 European Union countries combined,” the CHOICE report says, and the relationship between Serbia and China has grown significantly. “The multifaceted nature of the world has become stronger.” China Research Group run by the Prague-based think tank Institute for International Affairs.

Prominent Chinese investors include HBIS Group, which took over the ailing steel business once owned by U.S. Steel and now employs 5,000 people, and Zijin, one of China’s largest mining companies. This includes the mining sector. According to Reuters, Zijin Mining agreed to invest $1.26 billion in a copper mining facility in Bor in 2018 in exchange for a 63% stake. The company then opened the Kukal Peki copper and gold mine in 2021, the news agency reported. Minsu, a Chinese auto parts maker run by Chinese billionaire Chin Zhonghua, has invested more than $100 million in Serbia. Serbia’s welcome to China’s infrastructure projects contrasts with criticism from other countries that China’s construction under the Belt and Road initiative imposes unfair debt on beneficiaries.

With the China-Serbia Free Trade Agreement scheduled to take effect on July 1, trade between China and Serbia is expected to further expand. Trade between China and Serbia still favors China, but Serbian exports now account for about 20% of what they were before. Ladak, a former reporter for the daily Danas & Brick with more than 20 years of experience in economic journalism and communications, said the low is just 3%. He also worked for NALED, a non-governmental organization focused on improving the business environment in Serbia.

Ladak said that even within Serbia, opinions are divided on whether the deal is a good idea. “Some say that Chinese companies will benefit more than Serbian companies because we are too small in terms of production and too far from China” to seize opportunities in China, he said. , added that Serbian exports to China are mainly goods and goods from China. – Owned factory. Radak believes that a “lack of information about the Chinese market” is also holding back Serbian companies.

Forbes Serbia is one of over 40 international editions of Forbes. Launched in 2023 under a licensing agreement between Forbes Media and United Media.

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