China and Serbia agreed to follow a "shared future" on Wednesday (May 8) as President Xi Jinping visited the Balkan country as part of his bid to forge stronger relations with allies at the edge of the European Union. - REUTERS
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00:00China and Serbia agreed to follow a shared future as President Xi Jinping visited the
00:06Balkan country on Wednesday.
00:08Xi is on his first tour of Europe in five years, seen as an effort to strengthen ties
00:14with Eastern European countries that are pro-Russian and large recipients of Chinese investment.
00:20The president of the world's number two economy was greeted on the tarmac by children who
00:24handed out flowers, as well as a traditional Serbian dance performance.
00:31Belgrade's streets were decorated with Chinese flags, and Xi and Serbian President Aleksandar
00:36Vucic were greeted by a cheering crowd in front of the presidential palace.
00:41Since 2020, China has been the single largest investor in Serbia, Vucic said, an investment
00:48that's up 30-fold over the past decade.
00:51During Xi's first visit to Belgrade in 2016, the two countries signed a strategic partnership.
00:58Last year, Vucic signed 18 agreements with Xi in Beijing, including a free trade deal
01:03that comes into effect on July 1st.
01:06At a press conference with Vucic, Xi said the two countries share deep connections.
01:11China and Serbia are true friends, and good partners.
01:17Political mutual trust between the two countries is rock solid.
01:21Pragmatic cooperation, institutional upgrading, and multilateral coordination are close and
01:27smooth, and hard-core friendship is everlasting.
01:34More than two dozen agreements were signed during this visit, promoting legal, regulatory
01:38and economic cooperation, and both leaders said they would support each other's sovereign
01:43team and territorial integrity, meaning that Serbia considers Taiwan, viewed by Beijing
01:49as a breakaway province, to be part of China, just as China considers Kosovo, which declared
01:55independence in 2008, as part of Serbia.
01:58Vucic said Serbia and China are moving from strategic relations to, quote, a community
02:04that talks about the shared future of our two countries.
02:10China owns mines and factories across Serbia, and has lent it billions for roads, bridges
02:15and new facilities, becoming the country's key partner in much-needed infrastructure
02:20development.
02:21Xi's visit coincides with the anniversary of the accidental 1999 NATO bombing of the
02:27Chinese embassy in Belgrade.
02:29It killed three Chinese journalists and wounded 20 Chinese nationals.
02:33It sparked outrage in China, and an apology from then-U.S. President Bill Clinton.
02:39Along with Hungary, Serbia is Europe's firmest supporter of China's huge belt and road infrastructure
02:45project, which stretches across parts of Asia and Europe.
02:49The Chinese president had left France on Tuesday after a two-day trip where he offered no major
02:54concessions on trade or foreign policy.
02:58Xi departed Wednesday evening for Hungary.