A building witnesses the ironclad friendship between China and Serbia

In May, the Serbian capital of Belgrade, located more than 7,000 kilometers from Beijing, is full of vibrance.

Walking through the streets, there is a unique modern building that attracts people's attention. Based on ancient Chinese landscape paintings, the exterior walls of the building present the perfect combination of the art of painting and modern architecture. The road where the edifice is located is called "Confucius Boulevard," while the square where the edifice is located is called "China- Serbia Friendship Square." This edifice is the China Cultural Center in Belgrade.

The China Cultural Center in Belgrade. (Photo: Wang Wei)

Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to the Republic of Serbia on June 17, 2016. During the visit, President Xi and the leaders of Serbia attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the China Cultural Center together. The two heads of state laid the foundation and exchanged sincere messages.

The building, which is like a beautiful ancient Chinese landscape painting drawn on the bank of the Danube River, is not only an important bridge and bond for cultural exchanges between the two countries, but also a witness to the ironclad friendship between China and Serbia during the development of the times.

China and the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia formally established diplomatic relations in the early 1950s, ushering in a new page of friendship and cooperation between people in China and Serbia. For decades, the profound friendship and special bond between our peoples have withstood the passage of time and the long distance and become even stronger.

Cultural exchanges are an important part of China-Serbia relations and an inexhaustible driving force for the deepening development of bilateral relations.

At one time, famous films such as Walter defends Sarajevo, Most and so on inspired the patriotic enthusiasm of countless Chinese people, and the song of "Bella ciao" is still prevalent in China now.

At present, "Chinese fever" continues to heat up in Serbia. Many universities have set up Chinese departments, a Chinese popularization project was officially launched in 2012 in primary and secondary schools nationwide, and more and more Serbs have joined Confucius Institutes and Chinese teaching centers.

A variety of cultural courses are being taught at the China Cultural Center in Belgrade, such as Tai Chi, calligraphy, Chinese language, guzheng (Chinese zither). These activities enable Serbian people to have an immersive experience of Chinese culture.

Tai Chi class at the China Cultural Center in Belgrade. (Photo: Shen Xiaoxiao/ People's Daily）

Dubonjac Jovana, a 29-year-old girl who was born and raised in Serbia, is studying for a PhD in Chinese culture. She is also a volunteer teaching Chinese at the China Cultural Center in Belgrade. Learning Chinese not only creates more opportunities for her, but also provides many Serbs a window to take a look at the world, she said. "Although China and Serbia are far away, the long history of China and Chinese culture is very attractive to many Serbs."

In recent years, the cooperation between China and Serbia in culture and tourism, and economy and trade has yielded fruitful results, while people between the two countries have become closer. In 2017, a mutual visa-free agreement between the two countries came into effect. In 2019, China became the country with the largest number of tourists to Serbia. Since China and Serbia signed an agreement recognizing the validity of driving licenses issued by each other and opened direct flights, personnel exchanges between the two countries have continued to increase. In 2023, China and Serbia signed a free trade agreement, injecting new momentum into bilateral relations.

Serbia is China's first comprehensive strategic partner in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), and the two countries have nurtured an ironclad friendship. President Xi Jinping has remarked on bilateral relations many times on different occasions, "China and Serbia are 'ironclad friends' having stood together through thick and thin," "The two countries enjoy high-level political mutual trust, and bilateral relations have withstood tests and become even stronger, setting a model for international relations," "The ironclad China-Serbia friendship is most valuable and deserves to be firmly upheld and carried forward from generation to generation."

In May 2008, after an earthquake hit Wenchuan, China's Sichuan Province, Serbia mobilized a batch of tents from its military reserves to aid China's disaster areas and printed "To the People of China" on the outer package.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic greeted the Chinese medical expert team that arrived in Serbia to assist in combating the outbreak, kissing the Chinese flag to express his gratitude for the country's timely support. This scene deeply moved many Chinese people.

"Serbia is proud of its ironclad friendship with China." When meeting with President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing last October, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that China has always respected and treated Serbia equally, and provided appreciated support to the country in times of difficulties. China's assistance and cooperation have helped Serbia maintain sound economic development and brought huge benefits to the Serbian people.

Yesterday's seeds, today's harvest. Under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, China and Serbia have forged a stronger bond. Cooperation projects between the two countries like the Hungary-Serbia railway, the Pupin Bridge on the Danube river in Belgrade, the E-763 highway, the Kostolac Power Plant, and HBIS Smederevo Steel Plant, have not only transformed the bilateral traditional friendship into practical cooperation results, but also brought more benefits to the two peoples.

"China attaches great importance to its relations with Serbia and values the profound tradition of China-Serbia friendship. China is ready to tap the potential of win-win cooperation by utilizing our complementarity so as to achieve steady and sustained growth of our relations," Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a signed article in the leading Serbian newspaper Politika under the title of "Enduring Friendship and True Partnership" in June, 2016.

A Serbian proverb goes, "Prijatelj je plod vremena" (friends are the fruits of time). With the joint efforts of the two countries, the seeds of friendship are being planted one after another, yielding fruitful fruits for China-Serbia friendship.

(Translated by Xu Zheqi, Meng Jiahui and Liu Lifeng)