Chen Bo, Chinese Ambassador to Serbia Photo: Courtesy of the Chinese Embassy in Serbia

The Chinese and Serbian governments support each other and the two peoples interact with each other in a friendly way. The steel friendship between the two countries has been tempered by solidarity in the fight against the pandemic. In recent years, in line with the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Chinese companies have been cooperating more and more with Serbia. They have played an important role in the cooperation between the two countries in fighting the pandemic, providing Chinese and Serbians another dimension to feel the tangible results of the BRI.

On March 15, Serbia entered a state of emergency because of the coronavirus outbreak. That night, with the support of the Mammoth Foundation, PCR kits donated by BGI Group were rushed to Belgrade. It was the first international anti-virus aid received by Serbia, which opened the door to further cooperation between the Mammoth Foundation, BGI Group and Serbia. After arriving in Serbia, a Chinese medical team shared its experience in epidemic prevention and control. Serbia was thus aware of the importance of "testing every suspected case," but seriously troubled by its inadequate detection capacity. The Mammoth Foundation and BGI offered to cooperate with Serbia on building the Fire Eye Lab in Belgrade, donating the main equipment for the lab and sending engineers to install it and train local personnel. It took only 12 days from the signature of the cooperation agreement between the two sides to the opening of the laboratory in Belgrade. To strengthen its detection capacity in the south, Serbia wanted to build another Fire Eye Lab in the southern city of Nis. Serbia Zijin Bor Copper stepped forward and donated all the equipment needed for the lab.

The HBIS Group's acquisition of Serbian steelmaker Zelezara Smederevo to establish the HBIS Group Serbia Iron & Steel (Hesteel Serbia) rescued the steel plant from bankruptcy and saved 5,000 jobs, becoming a lauded example of Belt and Road cooperation. Joining in on the cooperation to combat COVID-19, Hesteel Serbia once again assumed its social responsibility. With the support of the HBIS Group, it quickly procured medical supplies urgently needed in Serbia. Medical supplies donated by Hesteel Serbia arrived in Serbia on March 26, which included 100,000 N95 masks, 500,000 pairs of disposable medical examination gloves, 10,000 protective suits, 30,000 medical isolation masks, 20 sets of infrared temperature measuring equipment and 25,000 testing reagents. Many other Chinese companies also donated large quantities of protective equipment and medical supplies to Serbia and have contributed to its fight against the pandemic.

Chinese companies have also made full use of their strengths and taken an active role in the fight against the virus in Serbia. During the pandemic, some Serbian schools faced shortages of equipment for socially distanced education, and Huawei quickly provided them with a batch of tablet computers. The Chinese medical team needed a good interpreter, and Shandong Hi-Speed Group did not hesitate in sending its own interpreter to accompany the team. For two and a half months, the interpreter stayed with the team and visited the areas hardest hit by COVID-19 regardless of personal safety concerns. In order to assist with the delivery of medical supplies purchased by the Serbian side, the China Railway Group coordinated 50 carriages within a short period of time and arranged a special train carrying anti-virus supplies for Serbia with the support of the China Railway Express. The special train set off from Wuhan and arrived in Belgrade 15 days later, showing the importance of enhancing connectivity between China and Europe and an example of the spirit of mutual assistance between China and Serbia.

In addition, Hengkang Medical Group has invested in Serbia, constructing two mask production lines which have achieved a daily output of more than 100,000 masks following rapid commissioning and installation.

Chinese companies are committed to balancing anti-virus efforts and production. With the help of the Chinese medical team, they devised scientific and strict prevention and control measures. On the premise of ensuring the health and well-being of both Chinese and Serbian employees, not a single Chinese company has stopped production. Hesteel Serbia and Serbia Zijin Bor Copper, two pillar enterprises in Serbia, overcame the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and have been operating normally, providing strong support for Serbia's economic stability. Recently, the virus situation has come under control, and enterprises have therefore sped up their pace, working to restore output to normal levels. 

Changzhou Xingyu Car Light Co began the construction of its plant in Serbia on March 12. Affected by the pandemic, the ground-breaking ceremony was attended only by a few managers. Three months later, by the time Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic had inspected the plant's construction site, the first phase of the project was 60 percent complete.

The Strazenica tunnel, a beltway highway project contracted by the China Power Construction Corporation, has been completed 225 days ahead of schedule. On May 30, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic inspected the construction site of the Budapest-Belgrade railway and was satisfied with its progress. On June 11, Vucic visited the site of the Planina-Borja section of the E-763 highway contracted by the China Communications Construction Company to learn about the impact of the pandemic. The company solemnly pledged that it would do its utmost to regain lost time and strive to complete the project as scheduled.

Thanks to the expanded scale of bilateral cooperation brought by the BRI, Chinese companies have contributed to China-Serbia cooperation in fighting COVID-19. The joint fight against COVID-19 has enhanced the mutual understanding and friendship between the Chinese and Serbian peoples, and has laid a more solid foundation for expanding cooperation. It is believed that the two countries will not only be partners in the fight against the pandemic, but also in economic recovery, working together for the high-quality development of the BRI so as to overcome difficulties and share opportunities.

The author is the Chinese Ambassador to Serbia


Newspaper headline: New dimension for bilateral ties