STORY: Talk with Ambassadors | BRI offers many opportunities for each country: Serbian ambassador to China
DATELINE: Nov. 2, 2023
SHOOTING TIME: Recent footage
LENGTH: 00:11:38
LOCATION: Beijing
CATEGORY: POLITICS/ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Serbia
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): YU HUICHEN, Belt and Road Portal Editor
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): MAJA STEFANOVIC, Serbian Ambassador to China
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): YU HUICHEN, Belt and Road Portal Editor
5. SOUNDBITE 4 (English): MAJA STEFANOVIC, Serbian Ambassador to China
6. SOUNDBITE 5 (English): YU HUICHEN, Belt and Road Portal Editor
7. SOUNDBITE 6 (English): MAJA STEFANOVIC, Serbian Ambassador to China
8. SOUNDBITE 7 (English): YU HUICHEN, Belt and Road Portal Editor
9. SOUNDBITE 8 (English): MAJA STEFANOVIC, Serbian Ambassador to China
10. SOUNDBITE 9 (English): YU HUICHEN, Belt and Road Portal Editor
11. SOUNDBITE 10 (English): MAJA STEFANOVIC, Serbian Ambassador to China
12. SOUNDBITE 11 (English): YU HUICHEN, Belt and Road Portal Editor
13. SOUNDBITE 12 (English): MAJA STEFANOVIC, Serbian Ambassador to China
14. SOUNDBITE 13 (English): YU HUICHEN, Belt and Road Portal Editor
15. SOUNDBITE 14 (English): MAJA STEFANOVIC, Serbian Ambassador to China

STORYLINE

Serbia, located in southeastern Europe, is recognizable for its unique charm granted by a long history and rich culture. Today we have arrived here at the Embassy of Serbia in China to talk with Ambassador Maja Stefanovic. What is her story with China? What are her thoughts and understandings about the Belt and Road Initiative? Let's go and find out.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): YU HUICHEN, Belt and Road Portal Editor
"Your Excellency, I've learned that you are quite interested in Chinese culture and Chinese literature. So, before we actually start, could you please share with us your favorite Chinese quote?"

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): MAJA STEFANOVIC, Serbian Ambassador to China
"There are many Chinese proverbs and sayings that I really like, but since we are talking today about Chinese and Serbian relations, I would like to mention two proverbs. The first one is "Huan Nan Jian Zhen Qing," meaning that during the hardships we can find real friends. And the other one is "Ren Xin Qi, Tai Shan Yi," meaning that with one heart, we can do everything; everything is possible, even to move mountains. I think that those proverbs can characterize our relations in the best way, since our peoples have established excellent relations. And despite the fact that, in geographic sense, Serbia and China are distant countries, but we had many very successful moments together that we have shared. And also, we have many joint achievements. But on the other side, we've also been through many hardships together."

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): YU HUICHEN, Belt and Road Portal Editor
"As you just described, China and Serbia enjoy this profound traditional friendship where there are countless examples reflecting mutual respect and mutual trust. So from your point of view, what are some of the important cooperation achievements?"

SOUNDBITE 4 (English): MAJA STEFANOVIC, Serbian Ambassador to China
"As you said, China and Serbia have traditional friendly relations on the basis of mutual understanding, mutual support when it comes to core issues for both sides. And in 2009, we established strategic partnership that actually had been further enhanced and further deepened. So it was elevated to the level of comprehensive strategic partnership. And on the basis of extraordinary, good political relations, we have further strengthened and deepened our cooperation in other fields, in the field of economy, culture, education, etc. Serbia is, at the moment in the region, one of the countries with numerous joint projects with China, in the field of infrastructure, energy, but in other fields as well. During the last 10 years, we have developed our economic relations and our trade relations. China has become actually the second (largest) trading partner of Serbia. We also have strengthened our people-to-people contacts and ties. Chinese language is very popular in Serbia. So now even kids in primary schools can learn Chinese language. The popularity of Chinese language and culture also has been rising in recent years."

SOUNDBITE 5 (English): YU HUICHEN, Belt and Road Portal Editor
"You've also just mentioned this a little bit, bilateral economic and trade exchanges between China and Serbia have been strengthened in recent years. How do you think such exchanges can benefit both countries and the greater region?"

SOUNDBITE 6 (English): MAJA STEFANOVIC, Serbian Ambassador to China
"I think that Serbia is an excellent example of benefits that we can have when it comes to cooperation with China. I've already mentioned excellent results when it comes to our economic cooperation. And when it comes to joint projects, I would like to mention the modernization of the railway between Belgrade and Budapest, the project that is of great importance to us. Chinese companies are also engaged in the implementation of other projects like reconstruction of power plants. And we are also looking forward to other projects in the field of protection of environment, in the culture, and of course, in many other fields. Apart from our cooperation through bilateral channels, I would like to point out that Serbia, since the very beginning, since the establishment of the Belt and Road Initiative, has been very active within this initiative. And Serbia, especially is engaged in this initiative when it comes to connectivity."

SOUNDBITE 7 (English): YU HUICHEN, Belt and Road Portal Editor
"Speaking of the Belt and Road Initiative, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic once said that the Belt and Road Initiative is promoting global stability by connecting different countries, cultures, and peoples physically and spiritually. So I'm curious as in how would you understand the Belt and Road Initiative?"

SOUNDBITE 8 (English): MAJA STEFANOVIC, Serbian Ambassador to China
"I would say that this is one of the most important initiatives on the global level. At the moment, it is an inclusive initiative, and a very beneficial initiative for all the countries that are involved. I always like to point out that the Belt and Road (Initiative) offers many opportunities for each country. We can participate in different fields of cooperation within the Belt and Road Initiative, according to not only potentials, but also according to national agendas of each country."

SOUNDBITE 9 (English): YU HUICHEN, Belt and Road Portal Editor
"So, we've also just talked about this, the Belgrade-Novi Sad section of the Hungary-Serbia railway was inaugurated in March 2022. How do you think projects like this, you've mentioned a lot earlier, how do they influence local people's lives in Serbia?"

SOUNDBITE 10 (English): MAJA STEFANOVIC, Serbian Ambassador to China
"This project makes easier the lives of local people, for people commuting from Belgrade to Novi Sad and vice versa. And we really look forward to the completion of this railway. And when this part in Hungary will be completed, I think that this railway will be very important, not only for our two countries, but to countries in the region as well."

SOUNDBITE 11 (English): YU HUICHEN, Belt and Road Portal Editor
"We're all looking forward to the completion of that. So since we're talking about these projects, in the future, how do you think we can better leverage economic and social benefits from these cooperation projects to better promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation? And also, in which fields should we focus on to continue translating our traditional friendship into practical cooperation deliverables?"

SOUNDBITE 12 (English): MAJA STEFANOVIC, Serbian Ambassador to China
"We are already experienced in the implementation of many projects with China. Although we already have many projects in the field of infrastructure, there are many new projects that we are interested in when it comes to future cooperation with China. We attach great importance to the digital Belt and Road. Having in mind that digitalization and IT industry, this is priority actually for Serbian government. And IT industry in Serbia is one of the most dynamic sectors that is also an engine for our economic growth. We truly believe that in the field of IT and artificial intelligence, we can achieve more good projects with China, and excellent cooperation with China."

SOUNDBITE 13 (English): YU HUICHEN, Belt and Road Portal Editor
"What are your expectations for promoting people-to-people bond between China and Serbia?"

SOUNDBITE 14 (English): MAJA STEFANOVIC, Serbian Ambassador to China
"People-to-people contacts actually are the basis for further enhancement of relations and cooperation in all fields. We share this iron-clad friendship, and we, at this point, have all the prerequisites for further enhancement of our contacts and cooperation. Chinese language is very popular in Serbia. Also, Serbian language is more and more popular in China. There are many departments for learning Serbian language in universities in China. And also we have established direct flights between both countries, between Belgrade and Beijing as well as between Tianjin and Belgrade. So we really look forward to welcoming Chinese friends in Serbia. Both countries have already established cultural centers in Belgrade and also in Beijing. So we really hope that those cultural centers will be the centers for friendship and for mutual cooperation and trust."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Beijing.
(XHTV)