According to Serbian Economist, Serbia is increasingly becoming a key industrial platform for China to enter the European market. This is no longer a matter of scattered investments, but rather a well-established system that integrates metallurgy, mining, transport infrastructure, and export channels.
A turning point was the acquisition by the Chinese company HBIS of the steel plant in Smederevo in 2016 for approximately €46 million, followed by investments in modernization. The second major flagship project was Zijin Mining’s expansion in Serbia’s copper sector—in Bora and at the Čukaru-Peki deposit, where total investment commitments exceeded €3 billion. This allowed Serbia to take a more prominent place in the European steel and copper supply chain.
Analysts emphasize that Chinese capital in Serbia controls several links in the industrial chain at once: copper mining, processing and smelting, steel production, and the export of products to European markets. Against this backdrop, Serbia is increasingly acting not merely as a recipient of foreign investment, but as a functional extension of China’s industrial base within the European economic space.
This is also reflected in trade. By 2025, China had become Serbia’s second-largest trading partner, with bilateral trade exceeding $7 billion. At the same time, a significant portion of exports from Serbia to China is provided by Chinese companies operating in the country, primarily in the copper and metallurgical sectors.
Infrastructure plays a distinct role. Analysts link the new model to projects under the Belt and Road Initiative, including the Belgrade–Budapest railway, bridges, highways, and logistics hubs. In this system, Serbia serves as a transit hub between Piraeus, the Balkans, and Central Europe, reducing transportation costs and speeding up deliveries to the EU.
In addition to metals, China’s presence is expanding in the manufacturing sector as well. Consider the Linglong tire plant in Zrenjanin, valued at around €900 million, as well as projects by Hisense in Valjevo and the Minth Group in the automotive components sector. These manufacturers leverage Serbia’s lower costs and its trade preferences for supplying the EU market.
The country’s trade architecture has been an additional factor. Serbia combines preferential access to the EU market with a free trade agreement with China, which entered into force in 2024. As a result, the country has become a rare hub where Chinese capital can operate simultaneously under both European and non-European trade regimes.
At the same time, this model faces new constraints. The importance of the energy transition and the CBAM mechanism is growing, which could increase costs for Serbia’s energy-intensive export sectors. This is pushing Chinese investors toward the next phase—investments in renewable energy, storage, and grid infrastructure—to maintain the competitiveness of assets in Serbia on the European market.
Thus, Serbia is increasingly establishing itself as an industrial and logistics hub between China and Europe. However, the further development of this role will depend on Belgrade’s ability to simultaneously retain Chinese capital and adapt to the EU’s stricter regulatory requirements.
The combined profits of China’s large industrial companies in January–February 2026 rose by 15.2% compared to the same period last year—to 1.02 trillion yuan ($147.6 billion), according to a report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Industrial enterprises with annual revenue exceeding 20 million yuan are considered large.
The growth was the strongest for this period since 2018, notes Trading Economics.
Profits of state-owned companies increased by 5.3% over the first two months of this year, while those of private companies jumped by 37.2%.
Significant profit growth in January-February was recorded in the computer and communications equipment manufacturing segment (3-fold) and ferrous metal production (2.5-fold), as well as in the chemical industry (+35.9%).
By the end of 2025, the profits of large industrial enterprises increased by 0.6%.
China’s foreign exchange reserves, the largest in the world, increased by $28.7 billion (+0.85%) in February compared to the previous month and amounted to $3.428 trillion, according to a statement by the People’s Bank of China.
The reserves reached their highest level since November 2015.
The US dollar rose 0.51% against a basket of major world currencies last month. The yuan rose 1.35% against the US currency.
Gold reserves in China rose for the sixteenth consecutive month in February, to 74.22 million ounces from 74.19 million ounces in January. In value terms, gold reserves rose to $387.59 billion from $369.58 billion at the end of January.
China has announced plans to invest 300 billion yuan ($44 billion) in state-owned banks this year to protect against systemic risks and increase funding for technology companies.
These measures were outlined in the annual government work report presented at the opening of the National People’s Congress (NPC) session.
It states that Beijing will continue to replenish the capital of financial institutions and prudently dispose of non-performing assets in this sector. The authorities also plan to regulate competition between financial companies and promote consolidation among small and medium-sized local financial institutions.
The government announced the creation of an additional fund of 100 billion yuan to stimulate domestic demand through measures such as subsidizing interest rates on loans, financing guarantees, and risk compensation.
Beijing has also promised to continue to combat “risks arising in the real estate sector, local government debt, and small and medium-sized local financial institutions.”
According to Western media reports, the country’s authorities are likely to replenish the capital of the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China and the Agricultural Bank of China this year. They were not included in a similar program last year, when the capital of four other major banks was increased by $69 billion.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in mainland China’s economy fell by 5.7% in January to 92.01 billion yuan ($13.4 billion), according to the country’s Ministry of Commerce. The manufacturing sector attracted 26.09 billion yuan, while the service sector attracted 64.04 billion yuan. Investment in high-tech industries increased by 0.6% year-on-year to 33.75 billion yuan.
FDI from Germany to China grew by 86.6%, from Switzerland by 57.4%, and from Singapore by 10.9%.
At the same time, 5,306 new enterprises with foreign capital participation were registered in the country last month, which is 25.5% more than in January 2025.
As reported, FDI fell by 9.5% in 2025.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, speaking on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, said that “the door to dialogue in Ukraine is open, and all parties should strive to reach a comprehensive and lasting peace agreement and eliminate the root causes of the conflict,” and called on Europe to be more active in peace efforts, according to a correspondent for Interfax-Ukraine.
“The doors to dialogue have finally opened on the ‘Ukrainian crisis’ (Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine – IF-U). All interested parties should seize the opportunity to achieve a comprehensive, durable, and binding peace agreement, eliminate the root causes of the conflict, and ensure lasting peace and stability in Europe,” he said.
According to the Chinese foreign minister, Europe should not stand by and watch.
“Since the conflict broke out here in Europe, Europe has every right to participate in the negotiations at the appropriate time. Europe should not be on the menu, but at the negotiating table,” he said.
“Now we see that Europe has found the courage to negotiate with Russia. This is good, and we support it,” Wang Yi emphasized.
At the same time, in his opinion, dialogue should not be conducted for the sake of dialogue itself, and Europe should offer new ideas and new plans to resolve this issue.
” And in this process, we need to promote the creation of a more balanced, effective, and sustainable security architecture for Europe. Consequently, by doing so, we are addressing the root causes of the crisis and can prevent its recurrence. And to achieve sustainable and lasting peace, China, for its part, will fully support the peace process,” the foreign minister concluded.
He also clarified that China is not a party directly involved in the conflict, has no right to make a final decision, and is only facilitating peace talks.
Regarding relations between China and the EU, Wang Yi expressed his conviction that they should be partners, not systemic rivals or strategic competitors.
“But there are differences and disagreements between our two sides, for example, our social systems, our values, and our development models, but that is because we have different histories and cultures, and based on that, our peoples have different choices regarding the path of development. But that does not mean that we should become rivals or competitors,” the minister said.
He declared that it is more important for China and the EU to practice multilateralism, defend the authority of the UN, say “no” to unilateral practices, uphold free trade, and oppose bloc confrontation.
