Serbia has secured close to €1bn in new Chinese investments after signing a series of agreements with major manufacturers during President Aleksandar Vucic’s state visit to Beijing, he said on May 27.

The deals, worth a combined €953mn, were signed with Chinese automotive and industrial firms including Minth Group, Shanghai Automotive Chassis (SHAC), BMTS Technology and Xingyu Automotive Lighting Systems.

“€953mn is the total level of investments that we agreed and signed today. That’s a huge amount of money for my country,” Vucic wrote on Instagram after a ceremony for the opening of a Chinese-Serbian Youth Cultural Center.

The agreements span investments in Serbia’s automotive supply chain, industrial production and advanced manufacturing, reinforcing Belgrade’s strategy of positioning itself as a regional hub for Chinese capital.

Additional investments were also announced by Linglong Tire and Yusei Holdings.

Vucic said the discussions with Chinese partners extended beyond manufacturing to infrastructure, energy and new technologies, which he said could “drive a new economic cycle” in Serbia.

Auto sector dominates investment package

The largest individual projects include two agreements with Minth Group, a global supplier of automotive components, worth a combined €226mn. The investments will create around 820 jobs in the western Serbian cities of Loznica and Šabac, according to Politika.

SHAC will invest €33.5mn in a facility in Novi Sad, while BMTS Technologies plans a €13.3mn automation-focused investment. Xingyu is expected to invest €77mn in a plant in Niš producing advanced vehicle lighting systems.

Linglong Tire announced a further €566mn expansion of its existing factory in Zrenjanin, adding around 400 jobs, while Yusei plans a €27mn investment in Niš, creating 280 positions.

Vucic visited Minth’s innovation centre during his trip, where he said Serbia could benefit from the transfer of advanced manufacturing technologies, including robotics.

China deepens economic footprint

Speaking separately, Marko Čadež said Chinese companies had already invested around €7.7-8bn in Serbia to date, with the largest 37 firms employing more than 40,000 workers.

“New large investments are arriving, from infrastructure to robotics, and Serbia is becoming increasingly attractive for high-tech projects,” Čadež told state broadcaster RTS.

Around 2,000 companies with Chinese capital are currently operating in Serbia, with employment in major firms rising by roughly 45% over the past three to four years, he added.

Minth founder Qin Ronghua said on May 27 that Serbia had become a key production base for Minth’s European operations, describing its facilities as a central kitchen supplying plants across the continent.

"We send them to all our European factories - in the UK, France, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Spain and other countries where we have smaller plants. They act like restaurants compared to what we have in Serbia - which is a big kitchen where everything is cooked", he said at the opening of the youth-cultural centre, Tanjug reported.