Vucic: New Chinese investments in Serbia could total hundreds of millions of euros

SHANGHAI - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Thursday his official visit to China had been exceptionally successful, and announced potential new Chinese investments in Serbia worth hundreds of millions of euros.

"I will wait until we get that work done. I believe we will get a lot of things done in June and July," Vucic told reporters in Shanghai, wrapping up the five-day visit.

Serbia needs to invest in new technologies if it wants to remain competitive in the region, he said. "Compared to everyone else in the region,

"Serbia will go sky-high as soon as the first robot is out of the factory. And that is the difference they will never catch up with," Vucic said.

Asked to comment on criticism of development of robotics in Serbia, coming from political opponents and sections of the public, Vucic dismissed as untrue claims that automatisation would lead to mass layoffs.

Vucic: I am proud of all we have achieved in China, I had meetings with 29 companies

SHANGHAI - Wrapping up a several-day official visit to China, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Thursday in Shanghai he was proud of everything Serbia had achieved in the past five days and noted that he had held meetings with representatives of 29 Chinese companies.

In a statement to reporters, Vucic said many good things had been done for Serbia and that interest from Chinese companies had been so high that he could also have met with 50 other companies.

He said he felt hugely honoured by and proud of the welcome given to him and a Serbian state delegation, and added that he was endlessly grateful to the Chinese hosts.

"This visit is the one where I have learned the most. I have never been on a longer visit, except maybe once in New York, when there was a General Assembly meeting," he noted.

Vucic said that, earlier in the day, he had met with a Shanghai government official in charge of trade relations to discuss marketing Serbian products in the city's supermarkets and ways to boost Serbia's online product offer because "in Shanghai, they buy everything online."

"Everything has opened up for us. Everyone who came said 'you have received an order (Order of Friendship) from (Chinese) President Xi (Jinping), we want to work with you in all possible ways and we will come to Serbia within one, two or three months,'" Vucic said.

He said that, with Guannan Group, Zijin and TBEA representatives, he had discussed new investments, a continuation of current projects and job creation in Serbia and that he believed he would soon have great news for the cities of Sid and Zrenjanin.

He reiterated that the first stage of the manufacture of robots would be launched in Sabac in July. "Those are all enormous investments.

When a company like Linglong Tire says it will come with a new 530 mln euro investment - while, for you, a 5 mln investment is a lot - that makes you jump for joy. Those are enormous things I think we have done," Vucic said.

Vucic meets with TBEA representatives in Shanghai

SHANGHAI - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met on Thursday in Shanghai with representatives of several Chinese companies, including TBEA, which specialises in manufacturing power transmission and transformation equipment.

The meeting with TBEA representatives was also attended by Ministers Sinisa Mali, Jagoda Lazarevic and Adrijana Mesarovic.

Based in Changji, Xinjiang, TBEA is a Chinese multinational conglomerate specialising in research and development and manufacture and sales of power transmission and transformation equipment, including transformers, reactors, cables and related electrical components, and also has a presence in renewable energy projects and production of new materials.

Vucic: West will not make situation easier for Kosovo-Metohija Serbs

SHANGHAI - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Thursday he did not expect the West, and Europe in particular, to do anything to make the situation easier for Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija, and noted that Serbia was helping as much as it was able to.

Vucic was speaking to Serbian reporters in Shanghai on the last day of a state visit to China. Asked what was ahead for Kosovo-Metohija Serbs in the runup to June 7 elections in the province following a police raid of Serbian Railways buildings in Zvecan and Leposavic, Vucic responded:

"Trouble is ahead for them, including after the elections. We are looking to help as much as we can in these circumstances, which is not much, but leaving your home is not the solution. Will the West, and Europe in particular, do anything? I do not believe in that at all," Vucic noted.

Had they wanted to, the West and Europe would have forced the provisional Pristina authorities to form a Community of Serb Municipalities, he said.

"Then we would not have any of these problems. They did not want to. They deliberately wanted tensions to be sparked and they wanted an expulsion of the Serbs," Vucic said.

"That is something we must carry as a burden on our backs and wait for a more favorable moment in international relations when it will be possible to fulfill the Brussels Agreement and respect the UN Charter," Vucic said.