Trade between Serbia and China reached $4.33 billion in the first half of 2025, up from $3.62 billion in the same period last year, the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (PKS) reported. Exports to China totaled $1.06 billion, while imports amounted to $3.26 billion, giving an import coverage ratio of 32.6%.
In 2024, total trade between the two countries was $7.45 billion, with exports at $1.9 billion (6% of Serbia’s total exports) and imports at $5.5 billion (13.1% of Serbia’s total imports). China was the largest individual investor in Serbia last year, contributing over €1 billion.
Serbia’s top exports to China in the first half of 2025 included copper ores and concentrates, refined copper cathodes and sections, processed beech wood, carbon, veneer sheets, and other timber products. Leading imports from China included unspecified goods in free zones, machinery parts, smartphones, air conditioning units, and portable machines up to 10 kg.
Key sectors with potential for future exports to China include food products, ingredients for the food industry, meat and processed meats, healthy and ready-to-eat foods, pet food, bakery ingredients, and dairy products. Cooperation opportunities also exist in infrastructure, energy, high-tech, mining, and investment in manufacturing capacities for third-market exports.
Chinese investments in Serbia between 2010 and 2024 totaled €7.17 billion, and there are currently 1,957 active companies in Serbia with majority Chinese ownership. These operate mainly in wholesale and retail trade, automotive repair, accommodation and food services, construction, manufacturing, scientific and technical services, ICT, transport, and real estate.
Major bilateral agreements include the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (2016), the Deepening Strategic Partnership (2013), the Framework Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation (2009), the Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement (2008), the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (1997), and the Free Trade Agreement (signed 2023, effective 2024).
Notable Chinese investors in Serbia include Zijin (RTB Bor) and Hestil/HBIS (Železara Smederevo), while recent infrastructure and industrial projects include the Pupin Bridge, sections of the Miloš Veliki Highway, Kostolac thermal power plant reconstruction, Shandong Linglong tire factory in Zrenjanin, and the Yanfeng Automotive Interiors factory in Kragujevac.
Serbia also participates in trilateral China-Central and Eastern Europe projects, such as the modernization of the Belgrade–Budapest railway. China remains the world’s second-largest economy, largest exporter, with significant foreign reserves, and a major player in agriculture and natural resources.
