Sinisa Mali

Sinisa Mali

贝尔格莱德市市长

Mr. Chairman, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates and Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Almost exactly a year ago, in December 2014, leaders of China and 16 Central and Eastern European countries have gathered in Belgrade, capital of Serbia and the city where I exercise my duty of Mayor, on the third Meeting of Heads of Government of China and Central and Eastern European Countries. It is my pleasure to be here now in Beijing on the occasion of opening of the second China-CEEC Young Political Leaders Forum, as this demonstrates both the continuity of our cooperation and the strong mutual dedication to bring our relations to the next level.
I hope that the City of Belgrade was a good host to the third Meeting of Heads of Government of China and Central and Eastern European Countries. I do like when Belgrade is remembered as a good host, but my policy is that Belgrade should be remembered also by its results. Hopefully that is also the case here, as the meeting resulted in Belgrade Guidelines for Cooperation between China and Central Eastern European Countries. It is an extensive document defining future areas of our cooperation. In true Belgrade style, it also outlines the implementation of the measures agreed on the previous meeting, as Belgrade is the city of progress. One of the measures envisaged in that document is the organization of this forum in China, and that confirms that what has been agreed in Belgrade will inevitably happen.
Having said that, I would also like to point out to other important projects that have been agreed in Belgrade between China and Serbia, and have been implemented or are about to be implemented. Most importantly, on the very same occasion, prime ministers of our two states, Mr. Li Keqiang and Mr. Aleksandar Vucic, have opened the bridge across the Danube River in Belgrade, named “Mihajlo Pupin” after our famous scientist.  The bridge was financed from a USD 217.4m concessional loan, extended by Chinese Exim Bank under the strategic partnership agreement between China and Serbia. Under the same strategic partnership framework, Exim Bank has extended a USD 340m concessional loan for reconstruction of “Kostolac” thermal power plant near Belgrade. Both projects have been implemented by Chinese companies to our mutual satisfaction, so that they are now looking for more opportunities in Serbia and Belgrade, and we are doing everything to accommodate them. Further down the road, Exim Bank granted a USD 752.5m concessional loan for construction of so-called European Corridor 11 – highway linking Serbia and Montenegro, and Chinese companies are now actively looking into models of implementation of this major infrastructural project. In total, we have well over USD 1b of projects currently being implemented under the strategic partnership framework, which is a huge figure for a small country like Serbia, and we are grateful to our Chinese friends for that. Given that all of these investments have been financed by the Chinese Exim Bank on the state level, last December the City of Belgrade signed the Memorandum of Understanding with the Exim Bank, and we are looking forward to jointly exploring areas where we could work together.
On the other hand, given that we are now in Beijing, we should look more closely into what can be done under the Belt and Road initiative. As you know, this important development initiative has two components – the Silk Road Economic Belt, which is land-based, and the Maritime Silk Road, which is ocean-going. Silk Road Economic Belt is 21st century successor of the historical Silk Road. The substance remains the same – the economic cooperation and integration – only now instead of caravans going through Central Asia, Middle East and Europe, merchants are using railways and highways. In similar manner, Maritime Silk Road follows the ancient trade routes from South Pacific, through the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea, to the Mediterranean, only now, instead of spices, merchants carry other commodities such as oil and ore.
The Belt and Road initiative is financially supported by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, with over USD 100b of capital, and the USD 40b Silk Road Fund. These important financial institutions are opening a new chapter in the history of global development, introducing new forms of infrastructure finance in the increasingly multipolar world. In addition, there is the China-CEEC Investment Cooperation Fund, established under the general China-CEEC cooperation framework, and the contemplated Sino-EU investment fund, whose launch has been urged by the Prime Minister Li Keqiang a month ago on the fourth round of the High Level Economic and Trade Dialogue between China and the EU. Altogether, these institutions form the financial backbone of the 21st century Eurasia, and we are impatiently waiting for all of them becoming fully operational.
So, how do Serbia and Belgrade fit into the Belt and Road Initiative?
At first glance, it seems that both components are somehow going around Serbia. Even historically, Serbia was not part of the original Silk Road, and was never part of the maritime trading routes as it is a landlocked country.
However, if you look more closely, you will see that Serbia is actually located right between the two components and that it actually represents the regional hub. The shortest land route between the two components actually runs through Serbia, and Belgrade is the biggest city on that route after Istanbul.
I cannot find better example for this than Air Serbia, our flag carrier, and Belgrade Airport “Nikola Tesla”, again named after our famous scientist. Air Serbia is a joint venture between the Republic of Serbia and Etihad Airways. I was personally involved in its formation, and I am currently acting as Chairman of its Supervisory Board. In that capacity, I am very happy to cite the Oxford Economic study, according to which Air Serbia’s value-added contribution to Serbian GDP is USD 373m, it supports around 22,400 jobs, while its economic footprint by 2020 is estimated to USD 572m. It is expected to carry more than 2.5m passengers in 2015, while Airport “Nikola Tesla” hosted its 4th million passenger in 2015 a few days ago. Taken as a whole, Air Serbia and Airport “Nikola Tesla” are major regional players, unrivaled by any of their competitors in Balkans. We expect their further organic growth not only due to the strategic alliance with Etihad Airways, implemented under the strategic partnership agreement with UAE, but also due to synergies with a booming hospitality industry in Belgrade, with major hotel chains appearing in Belgrade almost on monthly basis.
Belgrade as the regional hub offers numerous opportunities for cooperation. I shall outline only the major projects which have so far proven to be attractive for Chinese companies, including public-private partnerships, privatization and infrastructure and real estate development.
Firstly, when it comes to PPPs, we have tendered out a EUR 250m waste-to-energy PPP for solid waste treatment and disposal in the City of Belgrade, receiving a total of 11 bids on 15th October. Chinese companies are actively looking at this project, as it offers significant opportunities for financing and construction. We are also actively preparing a PPP for 4 waste-water treatment plants, as a part of EUR 1.8b investment programme for Belgrade water and sewage, which has also attracted significant interest from Chinese investors. Generally, Belgrade has the biggest municipal PPP portfolio in Europe, save for the UK and Poland, with other projects being developed in housing, social infrastructure, public transport and public lightning sectors.
Secondly, when it comes to privatization, PKB, a city-owned agricultural holding, will be selling 17,855 HA of arable land and 28k-strong livestock portfolio in early November. PKB is the biggest producer of raw milk in the region, with annual production of 65m l. It is definitely worth mentioning that Serbia has uniquely huge free trade agreement framework, including EU, USA, CEFTA and EFTA countries, Russia, Belarus , Kazakhstan and Turkey, providing access to markets with population of over 1.1b.
Thirdly, when it comes to transport infrastructure, we are actively preparing two major projects: completion of the Belgrade ring road (including construction of a number of bridges over rivers Sava and Danube), and the upgrade of the Belgrade-Budapest railway. We expect that both projects will involve Chinese companies and are actively looking into potential models of their realization within the strategic partnership framework, while the financing for the railway shall be provided within the trilateral arrangement between China, Hungary and Serbia, again agreed in Belgrade last year. It is part of Chinese express lane to Europe, starting at the port of Piraeus in Greece operated by the Chinese concessionaire.
Finally, it is my great pleasure to present our crown jewel –the Belgrade Waterfront project. It is EUR 3.5b real estate project, located at the very heart of Belgrade on the Sava River, and realized by Mr. Mohamed Alabbar, leading real estate developer from Dubai. It is done within the strategic partnership framework with UAE, and represents the biggest real estate project in the region, offering significant opportunities for construction industry both in Serbia and abroad.
In total, the value of our investment portfolio exceeds EUR 10b, which is a huge figure for small economy such as Serbian.
However, it goes without saying that no investment is safe without political stability.
In Serbia and Belgrade, political stability is brought by the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, under the leadership of Mr. Aleksandar Vucic, Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia. With more than 500k members, it is the biggest political party in the region, and represents a pillar of regional stability. It is deeply committed to implementation of the extensive programme of economic reforms, leading to economic development and growth, and making Serbia a safe harbor for investment. Mr. Aleksandar Vucic, in his dual capacity as the party leader and the Prime Minister, actively supports realization of the investment projects I have just outlined, and is their best promoter.
As the ruling and most prominent political party in Serbia and the region, we strongly believe that building and improving relations between friendly political parties all around the world is a good incentive for development of the economic cooperation. That is the reason why I am here, after representatives of my party attended the first international Forum for Young Political Leaders of China and CEEC, held in Beijing in 2013, followed by visit of the high delegation from the CPC, led by Mr. Zhou Li (Dzou Li), Deputy Director of the International Liaison Department of the Central Committee, to the Serbian Progressive Party and its president Mr. Aleksandar Vucic. We are looking forward into further deepening our cooperation with the CPC, and the importance of that cooperation for our party is reflected in the seniority of our delegation to this Forum.
Finally, it should be noted that our cooperation is a part of a wider trend of cooperation between European political parties and China. The Serbian Progressive Party is one step away from membership in the European People’s Party, the biggest and the most influential political organization in EU, gathering 75 parties from 40 European states. It is also the biggest parliamentary group in the European Parliament, with 10 member parties having their representatives on leading political positions in EU members states, and its members presiding over both the European Council and the European Commission. EPP is actively cooperating with CPC, and we fully subscribe to that, as we believe that cooperation between the parties shall reflect the overall economic cooperation between Europe and China on municipal, national and supranational level.
Great Confucius has once said that the man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones. I could not agree more, and wish that we start moving this great Eurasian mountain by carrying away small twin stones of Belgrade and Serbia. We have already started to do so, and the ultimate goal of Prime Minister Vucic and myself is to finish this task to the benefit of the future generations.
Thank you!

备注：虽然因紧急公务不得不抱憾缺席，但发来讲话稿希望我们以适当方式发布，以体现对本届论坛的重视和加强对华合作的强烈愿望。