Serbian president praises China's tech achievements

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who is on a state visit to China, inspects Xiaomi's auto factory in Beijing on Tuesday. He learned about the latest progress made by the Chinese technology enterprise in intelligent manufacturing and industrial innovation. WANG JING/CHINA DAILY

On Tuesday, the third day of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic's state visit to China, he spent about five minutes inside a newly released electric vehicle at the showroom of Chinese tech company Xiaomi's auto factory in Beijing.

Sitting in the vehicle, in which commands can be voice activated, Vucic asked the in-car voice assistant: "Do you have any Serbian songs?"

Serbia's national anthem, Boze pravde, then began to play.

"I have learned a great deal here, above all about the achievements China has made. This place is amazing — I have never seen anything like it," Vucic wrote on social media. "Everything is automated. Two thousand robots operate everything, and in two shifts they produce 1,500 cars. We invited them, if they start considering investment in Europe, to choose Serbia, and we also invited them to showcase their products at EXPO 2027."

The factory was Vucic's third stop on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, he delivered a speech at Tsinghua University and visited the Museum of the Communist Party of China.

After tracing China's journey from poverty to prosperity at the museum, Vucic wrote in the guest book that "the visit to the museum was a unique chance to deepen my knowledge of the development of China under the leadership of the CPC".

"I used to watch Back to the Future and think that flying cars, smart machines and technology that understands humans were only the stuff of movie imagination. Today, as I toured this incredible time capsule of Chinese achievements, I felt as if I had ... experienced that film myself," he wrote in a social media post.

He added that everything he saw seemed so advanced that, at one point, he thought his phone belonged in a technology museum.

Speaking to about 130 students and faculty members at Tsinghua University, the Serbian president said that China's progress should not be taken for granted.

While people living in China may regard daily changes as ordinary, he said that the nation's transformation remains striking to an outside observer, even over a short period of time.

He added that he has strong confidence in China's continued prosperity and bright future.

During the interaction with students, Vucic said that China-Serbia friendship is rooted in mutual support at difficult moments and in concrete results, rather than diplomatic rhetoric.

He cited Chinese participation in Serbia's infrastructure projects and the Smederevo Steel Mill, where a Chinese company's takeover helped preserve about 5,000 jobs, as examples of cooperation that have brought real benefits to local people.

Vucic also linked China's development to its openness, saying that the country offers cooperation opportunities to partners from different regions. China's progress is not accidental, but is the result of knowledge, hard work, education and long-term effort, he added.

Vucic also urged the students to remain open to the world, gain broader experience and believe in their values and principles. He said young people in China possess qualities that many countries have lost, including diligence, conviction, vision and a strong desire to succeed.

Hard work, education and perseverance will never become outdated, he said, adding that such qualities help make a country strong and enable it to keep moving forward.