Institute оf International Politics and Economics (IIPE) organised the international conference “Belt and Road Initiative: Six Years After”. Bearing in mind the very successful long-term cooperation of IIPE with a number of Chinese partners, the conference was aimed at launching an academic debate on the improvement of cooperation between China and Serbia, with a focus on economic issues, as the world economy continues to face many uncertainties and destabilising factors.
Professor Branislav Đorđević, IIPE Director, opened the conference with a welcoming speech emphasising the importance of the “Belt and Road Initiative” for further development and cooperation between the Republic of Serbia and the People’s Republic of China, not only in areas such as trade and economy, but in education and science as well. H.E. Ms Chen Bo, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Serbia, brought attention to the fact that the current relations between Serbia and China are remarkable, and that they will inevitably continue to follow the upward path. In addition, the Ambassador pointed out that the “Belt and Road Initiative” is the largest platform for cooperation in the world, which has been attended by 125 countries and 29 international organisation so far. At the end of the opening part of the conference, Professor Vladimir Popović, State Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, and Professor Gao Peiyong, Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, emphasised the vital importance of enhancing cooperation in science.
The working part of the conference took place in two panels with twelve authors presented ten research papers. The first panel delve into the significance of the “Belt and Road Initiative”, both for China and for the countries that supported this international initiative. Within this panel, presenters analysed the Chinese reforms that led to its economic progress, the changes in the social structure of the Chinese society, institutional frameworks important for the harmonisation of initiatives with the legal systems of the signatory states, and geopolitical and geo-economic aspects of the global role of the People’s Republic of China in the 21st century, seen from the perspective of the Western Balkans countries. In the second panel, focused on the economic issues, the presenters analysed the importance of Chinese investments for the Western Balkan economies, with a special focus on Serbia. The questions related to the relationship between China and the European Union were discussed, and in the end, in a comprehensive overview of the costs of Chinese cities, the importance of the size of the cities themselves for the development of a national economy. The conference participants agreed on that the current relations between Serbia and the People’s Republic of China are sound, but that there is still a room for improvement of cooperation between the two countries, especially in the economic and social sphere. The organiser announced the publication of selected papers in the edited collection, which will be published by the end of 2019, as another contribution to the creation of a scientific basis useful for all stakeholders interested in China’s role in the development of the Western Balkans.
