New Silk Road great opportunity for Serbian economy – Chinese initiative includes 13,000 kilometers of traffic routes

The Chinese initiative called One Belt, One Road, also known as the New Silk Road, is bringing numerous opportunities for the development of the Balkans, especially Serbia, which is considered one of China’s most important partners in this part of Europe, the main coordinator of PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) China for realization of projects within the said initiative, Gabriel Wong, stated.

During his visit to Belgrade, he pointed out that the project included the construction of land and sea infrastructure, that is, a network of roads and railways of over 13,000 kilometers, and the reconstruction and construction of ports and industrial parks. This trade and economic corridor encompasses 56 countries with a population of 4.4 billion people and more than a third of the global economic production, making it the most ambitious development project in history, PwC announced.

– Each country taking part in the Initiative has its own special features and attracts different investments. In the first phase, Serbia can count on projects in the field of infrastructure and energy, to be followed by projects in sectors such as agriculture, production of car parts, telecommunications, IT industry and the financial sector – Wong said.

He pointed out that, in addition to the projects supported by the Chinese government, the New Silk Road was a mechanism for attracting investments from the private sector in all countries where the projects are to be developed.

– That is why it is very important for Chinese private investors to be familiar with business opportunities in Serbia and the potential for future investments. In making decisions on investments, they primarily assess what the capacity for growth and development of the economy they’re investing in is like. Another important factor is political stability, and then also the speed with which reforms are carried out – Wong said.

According to him, the most desirable form of cooperation for Chinese investors is partnership with companies from the local private sector.

– At the moment, they are the most interested in the development of industrial parks, and they also see great potential in the development of the port infrastructure, which is of great importance for Serbia as a transit country – Wong said.

During his visit to Belgrade, Wong met with representatives of the Ministry of Transport, Construction and Infrastructure, the Economy and Commerce department of the Embassy of China and local and Chinese companies operating in Serbia.

PricewaterhouseCoopers d.o.o. Beograd

Ministarstvo građevinarstva, saobraćaja i infrastrukture Republike Srbije

Ambasada NR Kine Beograd

PwC China

PricewaterhouseCoopers

Ministry of Transport Construction and Infrastructure

Embassy of China in Belgrade

Gabriel Wong

New Silk Road initiative

industrial parks

construction of ports

Chinese investments in Serbia