PM writes about "Serbia-China friendship bridge"

PM writes about "Serbia-China friendship bridge"

LONDON -- Hosting "the China-Balkans" summit this week gives "extra-importance to our vigor in pursuing our European path," says Aleksandar Vucic.

The Serbian prime minister wrote a guest post for the Financial Times blog website ahead of the meeting of prime ministers of China and 16 Central and Eastern European countries.

"We will use all these strengthened regional and international ties to reform our economy, create more jobs, raise the living standards of our people, and give them hope that the future is something they can look forward to," he wrote.

Vucic noted that Serbia "recently began its accession talks with the EU" and is firmly dedicated to its European path.

"This is a blessing to a country like Serbia, since its geographic position places us at a key strategic juncture between Europe and the Orient - and this role is becoming ever more prominent."

Vucic then went on to write that "the first character in the Chinese words for Serbia and Serbian is pronounced sai. It translates as ‘place of strategic importance'."

" As Chinese characters so often do, it offers a remarkably concise and meaningful description of Serbia's relationship with China and the world more broadly," said the Serbian prime minister.

According to Vucic, "Belgrade has not hosted an event of this magnitude for 40 years and this summit is clear evidence of the Serbia-China relationship entering a new era."

"We have enjoyed an increasingly warm relationship with China in recent years - one that is destined to become even stronger. When we met in Tianjin this year at the ‘Summer Davos', Premier Li Keqiang and I spoke of our desire to...