Serbia-China friendship is indestructible: Serbian PM

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic (R) meets with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Belgrade, Serbia, Oct. 27, 2021. (Photo by Predrag Milosavljevic/Xinhua)

BELGRADE, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- The friendship between Serbia and China is indestructible and their pragmatic cooperation has yielded fruitful results, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said here on Wednesday, stressing that cooperation with China is fully in line with Serbia's current and long-term interests.

The Serbian prime minister made the remarks when she met with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

During the meeting, Wang conveyed the warm greetings from Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to Prime Minister Brnabic.

Wang said that under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China-Serbia relations have stayed as strong as ever, bringing tangible benefits to the two peoples and playing an important role in regional peace and stability.

Noting that bilateral cooperation projects have covered all fields and delivered economic and social benefits, Wang stressed that China-Serbia relations have become a benchmark for mutually beneficial cooperation, a model for the joint construction of the Belt and Road, and an example for cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC).

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, China and Serbia have stood firmly together, and the touching moments of their friendship have left an indelible mark in the history of bilateral exchanges, and become a vivid example of their iron-clad friendship, Wang said.

"To China, Serbian friends are like family, and we are deeply impressed by the warm and heartfelt friendship of the Serbian people," he said.

Wang expressed appreciation for the Serbian side's consistent support for China's core interests and important concerns, stressing that China cherishes its profound friendship with Serbia.

China has taken China-Serbia relations as a priority in its exchanges with Europe, and is willing to jointly pursue common development and prosperity with Serbia, Wang said.

The two sides should promote the joint construction of major projects under the Belt and Road Initiative, expand cooperation in the fields such as green economy, clean energy, efficient use of energy, Internet plus, cross-border e-commerce, big data, cloud computing, smart cities and 5G, in order to provide a stronger driving force for sustainable development, he added.

For her part, Brnabic asked Wang to convey her best wishes to Premier Li.

The Serbian prime minister extended her congratulations on the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC), saying that the Serbian side follows closely and actively supports Chinese President Xi Jinping's proposal for a Global Development Initiative, and sincerely admires the CPC's great achievements in poverty alleviation and promoting economic and social development.

"China is an inspiring example for Serbia to forge ahead and strengthens our confidence in following our own development path," Brnabic said.

The Serbian people will never forget that China provided precious support for Serbia in fighting the epidemic, selflessly helped Serbia to improve people's wellbeing and actively supported Serbia's rapid economic development, she said.

No matter how the world may change and no matter what kind of pressure it receives, the Serbian side will unswervingly pursue a friendly policy towards China, she said.

Brnabic said that her country is willing to work with China to implement the major projects under the Belt and Road Initiative, strengthen cooperation in the fields such as infrastructure, digital economy, artificial intelligence and biotechnology, so as to push Serbia-China relations to a higher level.

The two sides agreed to support and make good use of the cultural centers established in their respective countries so as to consolidate public support for bilateral friendship.