Budapest-Belgrade railway upgrade and Serbian bridge construction Antea Pamuković, Monika Nowakowska, Sonia Sobolewska IRE213: A New Player in Town: China's Growing Role in Central Europe Bilateral relations between Serbia and China  1 October 1949  as a result of the conflicts with the USSR and the Cominform States, inter-state relations were established only in 1955  August 25, 2009. - Boris Tadic signed the Agreement on Strategic Partnership between the two countries  Serbia has "four pillars" of foreign policy  16 + 1 summit in Belgrade, December 2014  Serbia supports a One China policy  China has not recognizedthe independence of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo  NR China is the largest economic partner of Serbia in Asia  "200 years ago there was a wise but illiterate man in our country, and he was a prophet. He never heard of China, but said: people from the East will come, yellow people, and will reign over the world and they would drink water from Serbian Morave River"  "There is also their Silk Road - the lease of the Piraeus port in Athens and road construction is a strategy that goes beyond Serbia. The Chinesehave a very offensive approach, they have dragged the dragon out of their way and they are great" PUPIN BRIDGE  'China- Serbian Friendship Bridge'  December 2014  China Road and Bridge Corporation WHO PAID FOR IT?  233 Chinese staff  718 Serbian staff WHO BUILT IT? Belgrade – Budapest Railway Initiative  High-speed rail corridor  Balkan Silk Road  Land Sea Express Route  proposed by ChinesePresident XiJinping 2013  ancient Silk Road from Asia to Europe and Africa – economic vision Land Sea Express Route Hungary, Serbia, Macedonia, Greecee 2013 Li Keqiang, Viktor Orban and Ivica Dacic 2015 Li Keqiang, Viktor Orban,Aleksandar Vucic Serbian Trains 40km/h (~25mph) 2017 Belgrade – Stara Pazova False information  Maximum speed 160km/h (~99mph) not 200 km/h (~124mph) as it was stated in the media  The trip will take 3.5h (now +/- 8h) not less than 3 h Timeline 2013 2015 2017 20212023/24 1. Proposal of the "Belt and Road Initiative"+ agreement on modernization the BelgradeBudapest railway 2. Originally set to start, expected to be completedin 2017... 3. Tripartite agreement 4. The actual start of the project 5. Belgrade – Stara Pazova segment (34,5 km long) 6. Start of the actual construction on both sides – 2021 7. Expected completiondate Costs  Project worth US$ 3 bn  Mostly financed by China; Exim Bank of China  Serbian part – 200 km long  Hungarian part – 152 km long  Built by – China Railway Group Limited EU Concerns  Serbia is not an EU member state  Hungary has a lot of problems with the EU Commission  2017 – investigation Serbia •Reduce travel time •Developing country •Elevate the status •Boost of the economic growth •Connecting the country with the rest of Europe China •Speedup transportation of Chinese goods •Opportunity to win more tenders in the future •Connect the economy and industry centers Hungary •Reduce travel time •Upgrade of the railway route •Will not connect Hungarian cities •Belgrade is not a priority city for Hungary Pros & Cons Other Chinese Projects * Transport * Energy *Industrial production  2017 – the modernization of the Kostolac thermo-powerstation (of a new powerunit) started  In 2016 - the acquisition of the Serbian steel mill Zelezara Smederevo  The enlargement of the Drmno mine (coal)  Chinese companies are building key rapid traffic routes in Macedonia and Montenegro  Buildingsections of the highways part of the Pan-European Corridors X Sources:  http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-02/08/c_136039012.htm  https://thediplomat.com/2018/01/who-benefits-from-the-chinese-built-hungary- serbia-railway/  http://english.gov.cn/premier/news/2015/11/25/content_281475241762006.htm  http://www.xinhuanet.com//english/2017-03/22/c_136148007.htm  https://www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Areas/Serbia/China-goes-to-Serbia- infrastructure-and-politics-185401  https://mightynose.wordpress.com/2018/05/22/a-pro-chinese-pivot-is-the-last- chance-to-save-serbia/