Serbia reaps rewards from 'visionary' initiative

Balkan nation achieves remarkable progress from cooperation with China

Cooperation with China under the Belt and Road Initiative has played a "a huge part" in Serbia's economic success and the IT sector will be a focus for future bilateral cooperation, a top Serbian official said.

From 2014 to 2018, the Serbian economy has achieved a remarkable turnaround, said Serbian Finance Minister Sinisa Mali. In 2014, Serbia was in a poor economic condition, plagued by huge public debt and negative growth, Mali said.

But in 2018, Serbia registered a 4.3 percent GDP growth, one of the top 10 fastest growing economies in Europe, he told China Daily. Over the five-year period, Serbia also managed to clip public debt-to-GDP ratio from nearly 80 percent to about 50 percent, according to Mali.

The success of the Serbian economy resulted from economic reforms the country initiated in 2014, Mali said, and joining the BRI in 2015 also contributed to a huge extent.

Since joining the BRI, Serbia has attracted increasing Chinese investments, including approximately $7.5 billion for infrastructure, Mali said. The Chinese companies entering Serbia have brought enormous changes, boosting employment and trade, transferring technologies and enhancing people's living standards.

Trade activities between China and Serbia also grew, with total bilateral trade value standing at $2.26 billion in 2018, up 43 percent from 2014, according to Serbian customs.

"The BRI was a visionary move ... it simply brings well-being and happiness to the economies which are part of it," Mali said, adding that the initiative has linked the involved economies closer to promote sustainable development of the global economy.

Looking ahead, besides proceeding with infrastructure projects, attracting more private Chinese companies into Serbia will be a key cooperation area under the BRI, which could boost trade even more, said Mali.

Specifically, the biggest potential of future economic cooperation between China and Serbia lies in the sectors of information technology, artificial intelligence, and industrial robotics, Mali said.

The IT industry is the fastest growing industry in Serbia, and cooperation with Chinese companies can further speed up the development as they will bring in more advanced technologies and knowledge, he said.

Mali said Serbia can provide Chinese tech companies with new markets, not only in Serbia, but in its neighboring countries, with which Serbia has free trade arrangements.

The huge cooperation potential in the IT sector will be better realized in the expected biggest Chinese industrial park in Europe, located in Belgrade, capital of Serbia.

In April, the China Road and Bridge Corp, a global infrastructure contractor, signed an agreement with Serbian authorities to establish the industrial park, which is expected to attract around 1,000 Chinese companies and employ roughly 10,000 people, Mali said.

"The park is a huge thing for us," Mali said, citing that one of the three separate segments of the park will focus on the IT sector, while the rest will be devoted to manufacturing and warehousing. Companies located there will be free from taxes and fees, Mali said.

Mali expected construction work on the park to commence by the end of 2019, and the first Chinese company to come into the park by the end of 2020.

Apart from economic cooperation, Mali also pointed out the huge potential in cultural exchanges and tourism between the two countries, adding that Serbia's national air carrier Air Serbia Corp is negotiating with Chinese authorities to establish direct flights between Shenzhen in China and Serbia by the end of this year.

In 2018, the number of Chinese tourists traveling to Serbia reached 102,351, almost double the figure for the previous year, according to China's Ministry of Commerce.