The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, declared that “Taiwan is China” during a welcome speech to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, who is in Belgrade this Wednesday.
“We have a clear and simple position on China’s territorial integrity,” Vucic told a crowd gathered in front of the Serbian government headquarters.
“Yes, Taiwan is China”stressed Vucic, in a speech broadcast on local television.
The territory of Taiwan (Republic of China), currently with 23 million inhabitants, has been claimed by the People’s Republic of China since the end of the civil war in 1949, which pitted the Communist Party led by Mao Zedong against the nationalist forces of the Kuomintang. headed by Chiang Kai Shek.
The nationalists took refuge on the island of Taiwan (Formosa) at the end of the Chinese civil war that followed the Japanese occupation and ended in 1945 with the end of the Second World War.
Xi Jinping in Serbia to deepen economic ties between Beijing and Belgrade
The President of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping, was received this Wednesday in the capital of Serbia by his Serbian counterpart, ahead of bilateral talks aimed at deepening economic ties between Beijing and Belgrade.
The People’s Republic of China has invested billions of euros in Serbia and the Balkans, particularly in the mining and manufacturing sectors.
Beijing and Belgrade signed a free trade agreement last year.
The Chinese head of state arrived in Belgrade late Tuesday afternoon, after a state visit to France where he held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron about trade disputes.
In addition to France, the two other countries chosen by Xi Jinping for his first trip to Europe since 2019 (Serbia and Hungary) are considered states with good connections with Russia and the People’s Republic of China.
Serbian Finance Minister Sinisa Mali said this Wednesday on the public broadcasterRTSthat talks with the Beijing delegation will focus on a “major project”but did not provide further details.
25th anniversary of the bombing of the Chinese embassy by the United States
This visit by Xi Jinping to Belgrade coincides with the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Chinese embassy by the United States, which killed three people on May 7, 1999.
The embassy was hit during a campaign of NATO attacks against Serbian targets during the Kosovo war.
Later, the United States apologized, claiming that the maps were not up to date and that was why the fighter jet pilot missed the target.
Referring to the facts of 1999, in an article published today in the Serbian daily Politika, Xi Jinping wrote that NATO had “shamelessly bombed” the embassy building.
