Serbia remains ambiguous over EU position on China front

Brussels A “steel” bond that “no one can break”. Not the one between Serbia and the European Union, but between Serbia and China. These are the words of the Serbian president, Happy Alexanderchose to welcome his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, today (May 8) in Belgrade as part of his European tour which also took him to Paris and Budapest. It was a scene loaded with symbolism for Serbian-Chinese relations (it marks the 25th anniversary of the NATO bombing of Belgrade, which also hit the Chinese embassy), whose tones once again more highlighted Vui's distance from the line that Union he would like to join tries (with difficulty) to hold on towards Beijing.

“China has never turned its back on Serbia; they supported us even 25 years ago; you are always welcome in your second home,” said the to welcome with all honors to the Chinese president by the Serbian leader, referring to the NATO bombings in spring 1999 condemned by Beijing. An attitude which does not completely hide numerous provocations towards the European Union, both in terms of foreign and economic policy. “As a small country, we face pressure from all sides due to the autonomous policy we pursue.. We ask for your support”, is Vui's request to one of the countries that causes the most concern in Brussels, with an implicit reference to the non-alignment of EU sanctions against Russia for the invasion of Ukraine. Over the past two years, the Serbian president has had to find a balance not to become the pariah of Europe, totally opposing the EU's hard line towards the Kremlin, but at the same time to not be forced to break ties with Moscow by adopting international sanctions. And it is precisely thanks to Chinese support (and Beijing's ambiguity towards Russia) that Vui is able to carve out space for maneuver that would otherwise be untenable.conversely demonstrating the immobility of the EU to take countermeasures.

Another issue on which Serbia finds support from China is undoubtedly that of territorial sovereignty and the non-recognition of the independence of Kosovo (unilaterally declared in 2008), despite the fact that Brussels has been engaged in the mediation of a very difficult dialogue for the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Belgrade. and Pristina for more than ten years. “The two countries firmly support each other's interests on the basis of sound political relations,” Xi Jinping confirmed.China supports Serbia in defending its independence and development.” Also on this front, it is more viable for the Serbian leader to continue to obstruct what has been negotiated diplomatically with Brussels, while the Union seems incapable of reacting with the same rigidity it has shown towards from Pristina. For Beijing, the bargaining chip is the recognition of Taiwan as an integral part of China.a question which is not particularly thorny in Belgrade: “We are faithful friends”, confirmed Vui on another question of distance from the prudence that the European Union rather seeks (always keeping in mind that Serbia is a candidate country for membership).

Then there is economic and commercial policy, precisely one of the two questions of “vital interest” for the European Union at the center of the trilateral summit on Monday May 6 in Paris between the Chinese president, his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macronand the number one in the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. “Serbia and China are moving from strategic relations to the common future of our two countries; it is the highest form of cooperation, and I am proud to have been able to sign it today,” Vui rejoiced, speaking about the Joint Declaration signed today for the strengthening the comprehensive strategic partnership between Beijing and Belgrade: “It charts the direction of development of our bilateral relations.” The two leaders signed a total of 28 agreements and memorandums of understanding ranging from infrastructure to culture, sports to technology, including the purchase of nine electric trains for the Balkan country's railways, while that the Belgrade-Budapest high-speed railway will be completed by 2026 with China. support and whose trajectory cannot fail to worry Brussels: “Serbia becomes the first European country with which we will build a community for a common future», added the Chinese president.

To conclude the roundup of cryptic statements, even outright provocations against the European Union, President Vui also made a point of emphasizing that China “is our largest investor and our second largest trading partner.” with Belgrade's exports to Beijing having “increased 140-fold over the past ten years, and with the free trade agreement [of October 2023, ed.] we will be able to export almost 95 percent of the products we produce without customs duties. The Serbian leader, however, forgot to mention the commercial value of this relationship and the abysmal difference with the issues with the EU: if in 2022, China moved 5.8 billion (in euros) between exports (4.7) and imports (1.1), in the same year, Serbia imported 21.39 billion and exported 17.69 billion to the EU, for a total of 39.08 billion. (six times more than Beijing).

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