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China and Serbia have signed two road infrastructure development deals worth a total of nearly four billion euros ($4.2 billion), as well as a contract to buy five high-speed trains, BalkanEngineer.com has learned from Barrons.com. The contracts were signed in Beijing a day after the two countries concluded a free trade agreement during a forum dedicated to China's landmark One Belt, One Road (BRI) initiative, through which Beijing is seeking to strengthen its economic partnerships.
The deals with China will allow Serbia to build nearly 300 km of new roads and highways, as well as five high-speed trains worth €54 million that will run on the Belgrade-Budapest railway line.
Some of the trains will enter service at the beginning of 2025, linking the capital Belgrade with the northern city of Subotica, and when the Hungarian part of the railway is completed, services to Budapest will begin.
Chinese investment in infrastructure projects under the One Belt, One Road programme is usually made through loans, while construction work is carried out by Chinese companies. China has invested billions in Serbia and neighbouring Balka countries in recent years to expand its economic footprint in Central and Eastern Europe.
In 2022, China was Serbia's second-largest foreign trade partner - after Germany - with trade volume between the two countries totaling $6.15 billion.
Photo source: canva.com