Overview
- Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic began a five-day state visit to Beijing on May 24, 2026, and met Chinese leader Xi Jinping to witness the signing of more than 20 cooperation agreements across politics, trade, technology, education and artificial intelligence.
- China awarded Vucic a Friendship Medal during the talks as both governments issued a joint statement committing to stepped-up security cooperation, including counterterrorism measures, joint police patrols and special-forces training and drills.
- Xi urged closer ties on emerging industries and green transitions, calling for expanded cooperation on artificial intelligence, the digital economy, green energy, advanced manufacturing and Belt and Road transport and energy projects.
- The visit comes while Vucic faces sustained protests in Serbia over the 2024 train-station collapse and related demands for transparency, a domestic pressure that helps explain his push for foreign investment and political backing.
- China is already one of Serbia's top investors and has built major projects such as a high-speed rail line and metro works, and the new agreements could deepen Beijing's economic footprint in the region while raising concerns about the export of Chinese security practices and broader geopolitical influence.