After two days in France, China’s President Xi Jinping arrived in Serbia’s capital Belgrade this evening. This marks the start of the second part of his trip, which will take him to meet some very close friends of China: Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić and Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán are always outspokenly pro-Beijing. They also maintain good relations with Russia, as does China itself. China has invested billions in Serbia, in mining, industry and the construction of the railroad line from Belgrade to Budapest. In 2023, Beijing and Belgrade signed a free trade agreement.