Hong Kong media: Serbia could be Xi Jinping’s first stop on his European tour

Citing analysts, the paper said that in China’s efforts to revive in-person diplomacy with Europe priority is given to Germany and France, but that, if Serbia is chosen as the first country on Xi’s European tour, this will send a “strategic message” to other European leaders.

Selecting Serbia for this first visit makes a bold diplomatic statement, potentially reshaping the priorities of European leaders in their future engagements, said Sebastian Contin Trillo-Figueroa, an EU-Asia analyst with the Asia Global Institute of the University of Hong Kong.

In the article titled, “Next Stop: Serbia?,” the daily reported that China has long had strong ties with Serbia, which supports Beijing’s sovereignty over Taiwan and is an important partner of China’s Belt and Road Initiative in the Balkans.

On the other hand, Beijing did not recognize Kosovo. “Belgrade has also maintained close ties with Moscow during the Ukraine war, frustrating many European nations,” added the daily.