2016年CRI Serbian Officials Express High Hopes for Xi's Visit

 

Looking forward to Xi Jinping's upcoming visit, President of the Serbian Parliament, Maja Gojkovic, suggests China-Serbia ties are already on a solid footing.

"I hope the visit will be eventful and successful. The relations between Serbia and China have been developing proactively. China is a very sincere friend to us, and it has never cast any vote or made any decisions against Serbia's interests. China has never admitted the independence unilaterally declared by Kosovo. We very much appreciate China's unshakable support on Serbia's sovereignty and territorial¹ integrity."

Beyond political ties, Gojkovic says economic links have also been growing, and she believes new Chinese industrial projects in Serbia could be on the horizon.

"For example, Chinese companies have built bridges in Belgrade, railway lines between Belgrade and Budapest, and remodeled a steel factory in Serbia. More moves have been made to further strengthen our economic ties, for example, the Serbian government representatives led by our Prime Minister will hold talks with their Chinese counterparts about the possibility of establishing a Chinese industrial zone in Serbia, as one of the cooperation prospects²."

Gojkovic says investment from China and a strategic partnership³ with China will only serve to stimulate⁴ the development of Serbia's economy.

She says as Serbia continues to seek a membership in the European Union, plans are also in-place to expand cooperation with other countries outside the EU, including China.

Zorana Mihajlovic is Serbia's Deputy Prime Minister, as well as the Minister of Transportation, Construction and Infrastructure⁵.

She says Chinese companies have already been able to improve Serbia's infrastructure since the two countries formed a strategic partnership in 2009.

"Now, we have the high speed railway project from Belgrade to Budapest, and the No. 11 expressway linking Montenegro and Serbia. The total investment from China to Serbia has reached the scale of 2.5 billion to 2.8 billion dollars. We hope the commercial contracts will be signed in a few months after the visit of the Chinese President."

Mihajlovic says much of the work being done between China and Serbia is through a cooperation mechanism⁶, which was established between China and Central and Eastern European countries and known as the 16+1 mechanism.

"We are happy that China chose Serbia as a partner and let us be its biggest partner in the Balkan region. Most of the funds invested by China in the Balkans were eventually flowed to Serbia. Through direct investment to Serbia, it shows that Serbia is the center of the China-CEE 16+1 mechanism, and it is also an important country for infrastructure investment."

The 16 + 1 mechanism was established in 2012 among China and 16 countries which make up central and eastern Europe.

Bilateral⁷ trade volumes between those countries and China easily surpassed 50 billion US dollars last year.

Both the Serbian President Tomislav Nikoli? and Prime Minister Aleksandar Vu?i? visited China last year.

The Chinese government is on-record saying it views Serbia as an important partner in its "Belt and Road" initiative, particularly as a distribution hub to move products back and forth⁸ from China and the rest of Europe.

For CRI, I'm Victor Ning.

1 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

2 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

3 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

4 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。

5 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

6 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

7 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

8 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。