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(Along Belt and Road) Interview: Serbian president says China shows greatness by helping other countries

Xinhua, April 2, 2017 Adjust font size:

Serbia looks forward to strengthening bilateral and multilateral cooperation with China under the Belt and Road Initiative, visiting Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic has said.

In an exclusive interview with Xinhua on Friday, Nikolic said more projects would be carried out in the future so that Serbia could "fit much better within the Belt and Road Initiative."

Comprising the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, the Belt and Road Initiative is aimed at building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along ancient trade routes.

"The Belt and Road Initiative is the way that China actually shows its greatness by helping other countries," said Nikolic, who is paying a state visit to China at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The initiative is helping to connect European countries, especially in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), while China gains access to foreign markets, Nikolic said.

When pointing out that the Belt and Road brings mutual benefits to all sides, Nikolic raised the examples of large cooperative projects between China and Serbia, including the Smederevo steel mill and the under-construction Serbia-Hungary railway.

Nikolic also expressed hope that the Belt and Road Initiative and the connectivity it represents could be further embodied in the global community.

Nikolic also stressed the importance of the concept of a community of shared future for humankind, the Chinese-proposed notion to help improve global governance that has recently been written into a UN Security Council resolution.

"Regarding the concept, China has moved all countries in the world and mankind to think about how to survive, to live on," Nikolic said.

The concept represented a chance for a better future for all, Nikolic said, adding that Serbia fully supports such an ideology.

The president in particular voiced Serbia's readiness to facilitate any kind of communications coming from China to all countries in Central and Eastern Europe.

Ties would be broadened through linking the Belt and Road Initiative with the development strategy of each participant country, Nikolic noted.

Under the initiative, CEE countries would cooperate with China in infrastructure building, production capacity, and with the development of various industrial parks and economic zones, he added.

During talks between Xi and Nikolic on Thursday, the two sides agreed to enhance cooperation within the Belt and Road Initiative and the "16+1" grouping, which refers to China and the 16 Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC).

China and Serbia would also boost their comprehensive strategic partnership and deepen all-around ties, according to the two leaders.

During Xi's visit to the Balkan country in June 2016, the two countries agreed to upgrade their traditional friendly relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership -- a more advanced relationship between China and another country -- in a bid to cement political trust, and enhance economic and cultural links and cooperation in international affairs. Endi