First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dačić at the 8th China - CEEC Think Tanks Symposium
Your Excellency, esteemed Ambassador, Ms. Chen,
Dear participants of the Symposium,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Today, as we mark the tenth anniversary of the mechanism of Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries, we are particularly proud that Serbia is hosting the Think Tanks Symposium for the first time. Simultaneously, the Institute of International Politics and Economics, one of the co-organizers of today's event, is celebrating 75 years of successful work. All of this indicates that we have plenty of reasons to be pleased, but we also feel obliged to show you in this way as well, albeit online, why Belgrade is one of the centers of Europe.
Less than a month has passed since the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of China, and it is with great pleasure that I take this opportunity to extend my most sincere congratulations to the President of the People's Republic of China, Mr. Xi Jinping, on his re-election as General Secretary. The guidelines and conclusions of this year's Congress of the Communist Party are important not only for the further development and progress of China, but also for the preservation of global peace, security and stability.
Dear colleagues and friends,
Since its establishment, the China-CEEC mechanism has strived to become a comprehensive platform that further encourages and complements all aspects of our extensive cooperation. The success achieved so far is best reflected in the fact that the volume of trade in goods between China and CEE countries has grown significantly in the past ten years, by as much as 142.6%, reaching a figure of 136.2 billion dollars in 2021. Furthermore, it is important to point out the increase in the exports of agricultural products from the CEE countries to China by as much as 1.5 percent.
Serbia views the strengthening of infrastructure as one of the priorities of its overall activities. The construction of roads is one of the prerequisites for the essential connectivity among peoples while the establishment of strong ties in the region and beyond is undoubtedly the vision around which Serbia builds its peacetime policy. Therefore, cooperation within the China-CEEC mechanism brought us the development and launch of a whole series of infrastructure projects, the importance of which is long-term and strategic. We are proud to have achieved numerous results together of which I single out the most current ones such as the launch of the Serbian-Chinese air route, putting into operation the Belgrade-Novi Sad section of the Belgrade-Budapest railway and the construction of the "Belgrade Bypass" by the Power Construction Corporation of China. The successful business operation of Chinese companies in Serbia makes me optimistic about the arrival of new large Chinese investments, and I look forward with particular pleasure to the further expansion of our cooperation to the mutual satisfaction.
In the coming period, we will make additional joint efforts with the aim of further intensifying cooperation within the China-CEEC format, which has proven to be outstanding for the preservation of old and the development of new forms of cooperation. We are very pleased with the announcement of the meeting of China-CEEC national coordinators to take place at the beginning of December 2022, and we expect the China-CEEC Leaders' Summit to take place soon. In this context, we support Hungary's proposal to host the meeting, because we consider it extremely valuable that dynamic events in the world are accompanied by active and lively formats of cooperation that encourage mutual connectivity through concrete and useful forms of cooperation.
Serbia wishes to continue improving and strengthening its cooperation with the People's Republic of China, which it considers a reliable partner, a sincere friend and one of the most influential political and economic factors in today's world. The iron-clad friendship between Serbia and China is best evidenced by the relationship between the two presidents which exudes trust and understanding. In the best belief that today's gathering will contribute to further comprehensive, successful and multi-faceted cooperation within the China-CEEC format, I wish all participants of the Symposium successful endeavour.
Thank you.
