Xi Awards Vucic China's Friendship Order in Beijing

Chinese President Xi Jinping presented Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic with the Order of Friendship in Beijing on 28 May. The decoration is the highest state honour China awards to foreign nationals.

The ceremony was held at the Great Hall of the People. It marks the first time the current Serbian president has received an honour at this rank from his Chinese host.

The official decree states the award recognises Vucic’s contribution to the development of friendship and the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

Delegations from both foreign ministries and representatives of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce attended the handover. Vucic said after the ceremony that the recognition “belongs to all citizens of Serbia”.

In his opening remarks, according to a statement from China’s Foreign Ministry, Xi told the audience:

The friendship between our two countries has endured blood and fire, and Serbia remains a strategic partner in implementing the Belt and Road Initiative.

The phrasing echoes the language of Chinese diplomacy used during Vucic’s 2024 visit.

What the bilateral package contains

Alongside the decoration, the two sides signed 23 bilateral agreements and two joint declarations in Beijing. The documents cover several fields:

• economy and the digital economy
• education and technological development
• tourism and the development of industrial supply chains
• the continued building of a Serbia-China community with a shared future

The joint declaration contains China’s position on the territorial integrity of Serbia, including Kosovo and Metohija as part of Serbia.

According to the president’s office, the Vucic-Xi meeting lasted more than four hours. The talks covered the copper mine in Bor, where the Chinese company Zijin operates as majority owner. Cooperation on battery technology was also discussed.

Sector-by-sector investment figures have not been disclosed. The Serbian Chamber of Commerce says specific numbers will be released in the coming weeks.

Brussels and the opposition react

The European Commission has issued no formal statement on the ceremony. Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos previously said Belgrade must carefully weigh Chinese influence in the context of European integration.

The Russian business daily Kommersant reported on 27 May that Vucic raised expectations of the visit before the decoration was handed over. The paper reads this as tactical positioning toward both sides of the Europe-China rivalry.

From the opposition, Freedom and Justice Party leader Pavle Grbovic said:

The Order of Friendship has symbolic, not strategically binding value. The public must see the actual texts of all 23 agreements before any conclusions are drawn.

The People’s Movement of Serbia leader Miroslav Aleksic called for ratification of the documents, if it happens, to be held in the National Assembly with separate votes on each strategic instrument.

National Assembly speaker Ana Brnabic described the visit as the crown of an ironclad friendship and stressed that Serbia is the first European country to build a shared-future community with China.

What comes next

Foreign Minister Marko Djuric, Finance Minister Sinisa Mali, and Chamber of Commerce president Marija Marinkovic accompanied Vucic in Beijing.

A separate memorandum on cooperation between the Serbian Progressive Party and the Communist Party of China was signed in parallel. SNS calls it a new phase of political cooperation.

Vucic returns to Belgrade on 28 May in the late afternoon, according to the Presidency. A public address is scheduled immediately upon landing at Nikola Tesla airport.

The president is expected to present the full balance sheet of the visit, with all signed documents and projected gains for the Serbian economy.

Will ratification of individual agreements come before the National Assembly by summer?