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.
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