High-speed railway draws countries closer together

Addressing the event, Milos Vucevic, prime minister of Serbia, said the project serves as a testament to the ironclad friendship between China and Serbia.

"When we pose such a question: What has the ironclad friendship between China and Serbia brought us? Or, what benefits have the China-Serbia comprehensive strategic partnership brought us? Then the railway project represents the best and the most detailed answer," he said.

"It is the proof in practice of the agreements between leaders of the two countries. It is also the manifestation that even the most seemingly unattainable dreams can be realized with determination," he added.

Duan said the completion of the track-laying signifies that the Novi Sad-Subotica section has completed most of its construction tasks and entered comprehensive testing, laying a solid foundation for the goal of opening the line to traffic by the end of the year.

Apart from the Serbian section of the railway, dubbed the first railway in collaboration between China and Serbia under the BRI, there is the "first bridge", the Zemun-Borca Bridge, and the "first highway", the E-763 Expressway, all of which have helped Serbia improve its infrastructure and regional connectivity.

Chinese investment in Serbia goes far beyond transport infrastructure to take in a great deal of modern manufacturing and trade in services.

HBIS Group Serbia Iron and Steel, the first fully integrated steel company acquired by a Chinese company overseas, has emerged as a prominent producer of steel, hot and cold rolled products and tin plates in southeastern Europe. The company, with operations in Smederevo and Sabac, forecasts a production capacity of up to 2.2 million metric tons of finished products a year.

In more than a decade, trade between China and Serbia has quadrupled, while Chinese investment in Serbia has increased sixtyfold, according to Chinese Ambassador to Serbia Li Ming. China has held its position as the second-largest trading partner of Serbia for many years, Li added.

On Sunday, Chinese President Xi Jinping began his state visit to France, Serbia and Hungary. The trip also marks his second visit to Serbia in eight years.

Ivona Ladjevac, deputy director and a senior research fellow of the Institute of International Politics and Economics in Belgrade, highlighted the visit as highly significant.

"I consider the visit as the event of high significance which sends a powerful message to the rest of the world. Namely, it is not usual for a Chinese president to visit one country two times in eight years. So, one can realize how China values its cooperation with Serbia in all aspects: political, economic and cultural," Ladjevac said.