Meeting of the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dačić with the special representative in the Secretariat of China – countries of Central and Eastern Europe, Ambassador Ms Jiang Yu
Minister Dačić also took the opportunity to congratulate on the success of the recently concluded 20th Congress of the Communist Party of China, as well as the re-election of President Xi Jinping to the post of General Secretary of the Party, expressing the hope that in the near future, we will again have the opportunity to show hospitality to President Xi in the official visit to the Republic of Serbia.
It was agreed to further strengthen cooperation within the China - Central and Eastern European countries mechanism, which the Republic of Serbia sees as an integral part of the global "Belt and Road" initiative putting great importance on it. Mutual satisfaction was expressed due to the upward trend in economic relations between the two countries and the existence of significant potential for their further strengthening was emphasised. The interlocutors agreed that the Free Trade Agreement, initiated in the conversation between President Vučić and President Xi in February of this year, would be agreed upon and signed as soon as possible, which will further improve the excellent bilateral relations and steel friendship that unites us.
Ambassador Jiang Yu expressed her satisfaction with the outstanding overall relations between the Republic of Serbia and the People's Republic of China, as well as her readiness for further all-round strengthening of the comprehensive strategic partnership and strengthening of the steel friendship of our two peoples. She added that the People's Republic of China saw the Republic of Serbia as one of the most reliable partners in this part of the world, and that the Serbian leadership's determination to improve Serbian-Chinese cooperation in areas of mutual interest, both bilaterally and through the China - the countries of Central and Eastern Europe cooperation mechanism had contributed to this.
The interlocutors agreed that the recently introduced direct flights of the "Air Serbia" company on the route Belgrade-Tianjin-Belgrade, as well as the establishment of a direct airline of the "Hainan Airlines" Chinese company between Belgrade and Beijing will significantly contribute to the development of overall relations the two countries and two peoples bringing them together.
During the talks, opinions were exchanged on the improvement of cooperation in a large number of areas, through the intensification of political dialogue and the exchange of visits at the highest and top levels, and mutual support in matters of national interest for the two countries was reiterated. The head of Serbian diplomacy once again thanked the People's Republic of China for its principled stance on the issue of Kosovo and Metohija and confirmed the Republic of Serbia's consistent support for the "one China" policy and the "one country, two systems" principle, as well as China's fight against separatism.
