Serbian President Alexander Vucic was re elected president not long ago. He is not only a friend of Russia, but also a friend of China. The meeting once again confirmed China's growing influence in the Balkans.

At present, the west is paying more and more attention to China's large-scale investment in some of the most important countries in the Balkans. In 1999, China opposed the NATO bombing of Belgrade. In 2000, China provided funds to Serbia to avoid international isolation and illegal sanctions. The Chinese know the Serbs better than people in other countries: Western countries regard themselves as judges and recognize Kosovo's independence from Serbia. China firmly supports Serbia's territorial integrity and refuses to recognize Kosovo's independence. Therefore, it is not surprising that China is now trying to make Serbia the economic and political center of the Balkans, which is fully consistent with Vucic's ambition.

Over the past 20 years, China Serbia relations have been deepening. In 2009, the two countries signed a strategic partnership agreement, including China's investment in infrastructure, heavy industry (including steel) and power industry. Now China is one of the major investors in Serbia: from 2005 to 2019, China invested about US $10 billion in Serbia, and nearly US $2 billion last year alone.

China acquired the only steel plant in Serbia in 2016. Chinese companies also manage the country's largest enterprises, including a copper mine, a tire plant and several coal-fired power plants. Last year, China and Serbia also established a joint venture with a registered capital of 3.6 billion euros to solve one of the country's long-standing problems, namely the lack of centralized water supply and sanitation facilities. The project will cover 65 cities in Serbia.

In March this year, the Belgrade Novi Sad high-speed railway project that China participated in the construction (Hungary Serbia railway) was completed, reducing the journey between the two cities to 33 minutes, and the 108 km high-speed railway in the second phase of the project will extend to the border between Serbia and Hungary.

China's economic investment in Serbia goes hand in hand with political and diplomatic support. Serbia continues to support China's position on the Taiwan and South China Sea issues and also cooperates closely with China in the military field. Serbia's official media have been actively promoting China's positive image.

Serbia is the key to enter the Balkan and European markets and participate in the local economy. The country is not a member of the EU, so it is not bound by the EU's strict trade and financial restrictions. At the same time, due to its geographical location, Serbia has extensive trade links with Continental Europe and eastern Mediterranean countries. Over the past five years, Serbia's exports to China have increased 15 times.

For Serbia to maintain good relations with China and Russia, the habitual saliva of the west is splashing: the opposition politicians of Serbia supported by the United States are trying to sow discord between Serbia, China and Russia. They said the contracts signed with China to develop Serbian infrastructure and industry were "opaque" and "corrupt". This is reminiscent of the "Color Revolution" in some former Soviet countries, isn't it?