Serbia: Jointly Build the Belt and Road and Jointly Sharethe Five Interconnectivities

By Zhao Jiazheng, Guangming Daily reporter

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Serbia: Jointly Build the Belt and Road and Jointly Sharethe Five Interconnectivities

By Zhao Jiazheng, Guangming Daily reporter

Serbia is one of the very active states in the Central and Eastern Europe to participate in the Belt and Road construction. China proposes, with policy, infrastructure, trade, financing and people-to-people interconnectivity as the main contents, to build community of interests, community of responsibility and community with a shared future with countries along the Belt and Road routes featuring political trust, economic integration and cultural inclusiveness. In recent years, Chinese enterprises cooperation with Serbia is to seize these "five interconnectivities" as the main guideline, around the Belt and Road construction, innovate foreign investment forms, promote trade and industrial development with investment, and together with the local governments and enterprises create a new situation in promoting common development.

1. With the People-to-People Interconnectivity, cooperation will last

In April 2016, China Hebei Steel Group (Hegang Grouo) purchased Serbia's Smederevo Steelworks with 46 million Euros. This news came to Serbia's national exultation. The Smederevo Steelworks is Serbia's century-old plant, but also Serbia's largest state-owned steel mill since the former Yugoslavian period. But in the past ten years due to various reasons, this Steelworks had been at a loss, steel workers were on the job-waiting list, their life could not be guaranteed. After the acquisition of the plant by Hegang Group, the plant succefully realized profitability in the same year. The output value of the steel plant is expected to reach 1.8% of Serbia’s GDP this year. It will become a star enterprise again in Serbia. Serbia's Priminister Aleksandar Vucic said on many occasions that the acquisition of Serbia’s Smederevo Steelworks by Hegang Group is a successful model of economic cooperation between the two countries. The acquisition has not only solved the problem of more than 5000 workers' employment, but more importantly also made the steel industry in Serbia continue to develop.

Nikolic, who has worked in the Steelwoks for nearly 10 years, is excited to say that after the acquisition of Steelworks by the Chinese enterprise, firstly we in the Steelworks now have jobs, and then the incomes available, working atmosphere and export of steel products are enhanced. He also says that at the present Smederevo Steelworks, whether in workshops, or offices, or even the canteen, are hung the Chinese Five Star Red Flags. These banners are decorated for the visit of Chinese leaders last year, but the workers are happy to see them put there, because it is the expression of their gratitude to China and the Chinese people.

After acquisition of the Steelworks, the Hegang Group in the management demonstrates humanitarianism, assures the Serbian workers to fully experience the warmth of Chinese enterprises. The Steelworks management sets up special staff mailboxes, and the employees can communicate their ideas and suggestions directly with the leadership of the Steelworks. After taking over the management, the Hegang Group has also the Steelworks canteens, toilets and others facilities refurbished so that workers at the production lines can have improved services. Steelworks management also actively improves conditions such as providing commuter buses, so that the workers living inside the city can be more convenient to go to work. The Steelworks management also shows good care for the employees' families and pays home-visit to the retired employees during their festivals. For those employees with some physical problems or work injuries can not work, the Steelworks management will also visit them timely, and help these families through the difficulties.

In addition to show good care for the employees, the Steelworks management has kept in mind the responsibility of an enterprise to society as a whole, and actively makes contributions to Smederevo city. Over the last year, the Steelworks management has donated a number of computers and projection equipments to a local secondary school so that local middle school students can enjoy learning from digital equipments. The Steelworks management has also taken the initiative to build pedestrian walks for the nearby villages and towns around the plant, and laid water supply pipes for some nearby villages so that running water is available. The Steelworks management has also donated a large number of toys for the disabled children locally, who feel happy and excited to see them. At the beginning of the new term in September every year, the Steelworks management also provides new schoolbags and stationery to school children of the employees.

The acquisition of Smederevo Steelworks by Hegang Group is a successful case for the big Chinese enterprises to go global. Hegang Smederevo Steelworks not only creates economic value, but also creates social value. Now the Steelworks has become an important ties between the two countries. State-to-state exchanges relies on people-to-people amity, Hegang Group undoubtedly practices this good idea in the operation process of Smederevo Steelworks.

2. With trade interconnectivity, the two sides enjoy mutual benefits and win-win outcomes

For a considerable time, in the China-Serbia bilateral trade, China’s exports to Serbia accounts for the most volume. Over the past year, promoted by the Belt and Road Initiative, China offered Serbia a number of goods import facilitation measures, and provided the import licenses with more goods from Serbia.

Currently, Serbia's local top quality and well-known brands of food and beverages such as meat, mineral water, red wine and others are stepping into supermarkets in all parts of China, providing a new channel for broadening the export of Serbia's local products. Many Serbian town leaders said that Chinese market is huge, as long as Serbia can seize this opportunity and open one China’s regional commodity import and export channel, there is no worry about Serbian commodity marketing. This will bring great benefits to the employment of a large number of Serbian labor.

3.With infrastructure interconnectivity, development functions can be stimulated

China has an old saying that "to get rich, road construction comes first ". Chinese enterprises now in Serbia are participating in construction of the Hungary-Serbia railway and E763 highway, Belgrade Ring Road and Pu Ping bridge connecting both sides of the Danube, which are the benchmark projects to promote the local infrastructure interconnectivity.

On 28 November 2017, at the ceremony for launching the section of Hungary-Serbia railway project from Belgrade to Pazuowa held in Belgrade, Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said that the Hungary-Serbia railway project is a cross-border infrastructure project of the Belt and Road Initiative, is an important project of cooperation between Europe and China, will ensure Serbia becoming a transportation center in the Balkan region. He was moved to call the railway project the path to the future. Vice Premier and transportation minister Mikhailovich was also present at the ceremony

In fact, Hungary-Serbia railway will provide great impetus to the economic development of the entire region including Serbia. The current rail linking Serbia and Hungary was built in the late 19th Century, most of which is monorail. The Hungary-Serbia railway China participates in construction will be transformed into the electrified fast track used by cars for both passengers and goods, with designed maximum speed of 200 km. After the project is completed, the train running time from Belgrade to Budapest will be shortened from 8 hours to 4 hours on average, so travel time from Serbia to Hungary is greatly shorten, which is also an important step for Serbia to integrate into European rapid rail network.

In addition to the railway, the construction of E763 highway from Belgrade, Serbian Capital to the Port of Bar participated in by Luqiao Group and other Chinese enterprises is an important channel, and an important part of the pan-European corridor No. 11 Highway. The completion of this highway will greatly facilitate the Serbian goods to be shipped to port via the freeway and upgrade Serbian EXPORT commodities. In the meantime, this highway will also make Serbia an important part of the European highway network, which will bring new opportunities for the development of Serbian logistics industry.

4. The significance of the Belt and Road construction

The Belt and Road construction is a century blueprint linking the ancient times with modern times, and across land and sea, and facing the globe. Practice has proved that this great cooperation initiative, transforming the concept into action and from vision into reality, is writing a new chapter of the world's common development and carries very important and far-reaching significance.

The Belt and Road construction is China's major initiatives of expanding opening-up. Opening up brings progress, while closed door is bound to stay behind. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the foundation and conditions of China’s open economy have undergone profound changes. The interactive relationship between China and the world has also undergone a historic change. The Belt and Road construction is Comrade Xi Jinping, having acquired deep insight into the new characteristics of the times, has taken the initiative to plan the national development in a broader international space, a sign of a great historical transformation of the CPC’s open theory realizing from guiding China's opening -up to promoting common opening-up of various countries in the world, highlighting road self-confidence, theory self-confidence, institutional self-confidence and cultural self-confidence of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The Belt and Road construction is to provide China’s wisdom and China’s program for analyzing and cracking problems of human development. Looking back on the history of thousands of years, the human society is always full of the yearning and pursuit of a good life. After the outbreak of the international financial crisis in 2008, there have been deep adjustments of the world economy, the intensified polarization of the rich and the poor, the rising anti-globalization and populism and others. The deep-rooted cause is still the imbalance of development. The Belt and Road construction is committed to narrowing the development gap, to resolving the root causes of conflicts and contradictions fundamentally, comrade Xi Jinping-proposed development and cooperation initiatives, focusing on the common dream of peoples of all countries, pursue peace and development, and contribute China’s wisdom and China’s program for analyzing and cracking problems of global development.

The Belt and Road Initiative is to explore a new mode for global economic governance, and a new platform to build a community with a shared future for humanity. Since the new century, the international pattern has been deeply adjusted, and the change of the global governance system is at the historical turning point. In this context, the Belt and Road construction has emerged as an important public product put forward by China for improving global governance system. The Belt and Road construction emphasizes seeking common ground while reserving differences, fully inclusive and equitable, and ensures all countries to participate in global affairs on equal footing; adheres to inheritance and innovation, takes initiative steps to promote an incremental reform of the international order and international rules, and wins high praise by the international community. These new ideas and new initiatives conform to the internal requirements of transforming the global governance system, highlighting the sense of a community with a shared future for mankind, sharing weal and woe and shouldering both responsibilities and obligations, and providing new ideas and new programs for improving global economic governance.

The Belt and Road construction is the great practice of opening-up for socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era. China with the Belt and Road construction as the guide has entered a new era of opening-up, deepening opening-up, and actively participating and taking the lead. More than 140 countries and over 80 international organizations actively support and participate in the Belt and Road construction in the world, the important resolutions by the General Assembly of the United Nations, and the United Nations Security Council include the relevant contents. The economic and trade cooperation has been pushed forward steadily. China's investment in the countries along the routes during 2014 to 2016 exceeded US$50 billion, and the total trade volume with the countries along the routes was over US$ 3 trillion. The Belt and Road financial cooperation network is in initiative shape, a large number of interconnectivity and interoperability projects is planned for implementation, in-depth humanitarian cooperation in various fields are carried out. The first Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation is held successfully, and becomes a new platform mechanism to promote global cooperation for development. Practice has proved that the Belt and Road construction has started new practice of open development for socialism with Chinese characteristics, enriched and developed the new concept of the CPC’s governance in a new era..

(Excerpts of the article in Guangming Daily, December 21, 2017, p. 10)

On 28 November 2017, the ceremony for launching the section from Belgrade to Pazuowa Hungary-Serbia railway project was held in Belgrade. Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, Vice Premier and transportation minister Mikhailovich, deputy director of China National Development and Reform Commission Wang Xiaotao, China's ambassador to Serbia Li Manchang, etc. attended the ceremony.