Serbian president to visit China to deepen relations

Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic will pay his first state visit to China starting Sunday, a five-day trip expected to deliver more tangible outcomes in building a community with a shared future for the new era between the two countries.

President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang will meet Vucic separately to exchange views on bilateral relations and regional and international issues of mutual interest, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Wednesday.

Beijing stands ready to work with Belgrade to take the visit as an opportunity to consolidate ironclad friendship, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, enrich people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and strengthen coordination on multilateral affairs, he said.

In an address to the nation on Saturday, Vucic highlighted "the exceptional honor of paying an official state visit to China", saying that "we expect a great deal from it", as reported by Russia's Tass News Agency.

Serbia, the first European country to agree with China on building a community with a shared future for the new era, is an important partner for China in Southeast Europe, Guo said.

The two presidents have maintained close interactions, he said. Xi paid a state visit to Serbia in May 2024. In September last year, Vucic attended the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War in Beijing.

Under the leaders' strategic guidance, China-Serbia relations have been moving forward at a high level in recent years, Guo said.

Earlier this month, a $1.5 billion contract to build a highway in Serbia was signed by the Serbian government and Shandong Hi-Speed Group.

In 2025, their bilateral trade reached $6.49 billion, marking a 13 percent year-on-year increase, according to the Foreign Ministry.