01.05.2020.

President Vučić: Our deepest gratitude to the team of medical experts from China

The President of Serbia and the Supreme Commander of the Serbian Armed Forces, Aleksandar Vučić met today with the Chinese Ambassador Chen Bo and Chinese experts to discuss the results of a joint fight against the coronavirus epidemic in Serbia and the assistance China has provided to our country.

The Minister of Defence Aleksandar Vulin and the Assistant Minister for the Defence Policy, Milan Ranković also attended the meeting with the Chinese doctors.
President Aleksandar Vučić expressed his deepest gratitude to the Chinese team of medical experts, who have spent six weeks in Serbia and provided great help to our country in the fight against coronavirus, both epidemiologically and psychologically, "because we saw that we were not alone, that we had their huge support”.

"They have been here for six weeks, they have not stayed for so long in any other country," President Vučić said, after the meeting with the Chinese doctors and Chinese Ambassador Chen Bo.

- They have helped us a lot with their knowledge, experience, and advice and they have shown an incredible diligence and exceptional dedication. They have been to all our cities, and they have visited Niš twice. Whenever there was a crisis in Niš, they went there with our people and looked for ways to improve measures, to strengthen discipline, to arrange and disinfect hospitals, and I am grateful to them for that - said President Vučić, adding that these people have been here without their families and have been helping Serbia for six weeks now.

- They have done a great job and we are grateful for that. They continue their work. Only three members are going back to China, and three are staying here, but three new ones are coming, and they will be with us for as long as we fight the virus in this way - said President Vučić and also thanked the People's Republic of China for all the donations and assistance in the fight against Covid 19 disease.

President Vučić emphasized that during today's conversation with Ambassador Chen Bo, there was also talk of future projects and cooperation in different fields, bilateral relations between the two countries, as well as future tasks.

- I'm very grateful for our friendship. Please give our heartfelt congratulations to the President of the People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping, and tell him that we are expecting him here in the Republic of Serbia - said President Vučić.

In his address to the citizens of Serbia today, he conveyed an optimistic message that Serbia will be the country with the highest growth rate on the whole European continent this year, noting that we were among the top five countries in Europe in the previous years.

- Serbia has faced this difficult situation with its feet firmly on the ground and it will continue in the same manner, despite all the difficulties - said President Vučić, announcing that the public will be informed about the arrival of the unmanned aerial vehicles that have been purchased, because we also take care about the security of our country.

Ambassador Chen Bo pointed out that, under the leaderships of President Xi Jingping and President Vučić, China and Serbia are fighting Covid-19 side by side.
- In these unusual days, the presidents of our two countries maintain communication. They have exchanged several letters and had a telephone conversation. Both sides support each other and help each other. We are pleased that there are fewer and fewer newly infected people in Serbia these days - said Chen Bo.

She recalled that a group of Chinese medical experts, who arrived in Serbia on 21st March, shared their experience with their Serbian colleagues in order to put the epidemic under control and treat the sick.

- We thank the Serbian side, the Government of the Republic of Serbia and President Vučić for the trust and great respect they have shown to the Chinese medical experts. After a telephone conversation between the two presidents, the Chinese side made a decision to extend the stay of our medical experts in Serbia once again - the ambassador stressed, adding that they would continue to fight the virus together with their friends in Serbia.

According to her, Chinese companies are actively participating in the cooperation of the two countries in the fight against the epidemic, adding that the joint construction of the "Fire Eye" laboratory is a great example, as this will significantly increase the testing capacity in Serbia and create a new opportunity for cooperation in the future.

- Today I had the opportunity to exchange views with President Vučić on the bilateral relations of the two countries in the fields of infrastructure, tourism, innovation and trade. We also exchanged opinions on how our bilateral co-operation under the “Belt and Road” Initiative and “Mechanism 17 plus 1” is linked with the economic recovery of our two countries as well as countries in the region - stressed the Chinese ambassador.

- I am convinced that Serbia and China are not only partners in the joint fight against the virus, but that they will also be partners in the path of economic recovery - said the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China, Chen Bo.