On September 9, H.E. Maja Gojković, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Culture of Serbia, met in Xiamen with Mr. Chen Jinghe, Executive Chairman of Zijin Mining, on the sidelines of the 23rd China International Fair for Investment and Trade(CIFIT).
Deputy PM Gojković said that Zijin is a household brand in Serbia and its success is a testimony to the friendship between China and Serbia. She noted that Zijin Mining has brought significant development opportunities to Bor, Serbia. By employing thousands of people in the country, it has helped improve the living standards of thousands of families. She thanked Zijin Mining for its support of the development of biotechnology in Serbia and congratulated the company for signing MOUs on project cooperation with Serbia.
Ms. Gojković expressed her best wishes for Zijin Mining's projects in Serbia to become the largest copper producer in Europe as soon as possible, a shared objective for Serbia and Zijin. She added that Serbia welcomes Zijin Mining to expand its investments in the country, and that the Serbian government will continue to support Zijin's development.
Mr. Chen asked Deputy PM Gojković to convey his sincere greetings to President Aleksandar Vučić and extended a warm welcome to the Serbian delegation which had traveled thousands of miles to attend CIFIT's events. He said that with the support of the government of Serbia and the local communities, Serbia has become the most important growth driver for the rapid growth of Zijin Mining. Zijin Mining has recently placed its overseas operations headquarters in Belgrade, demonstrating that its intention to accomplish even more in Serbia.
He added that the Lower Zone of the Čukaru Peki Copper-Gold Mine is buried at great depth, and Zijin Mining has great confidence in successfully developing the mine by employing a series of new technologies and methods. Zijin will strive to make its Serbian projects the largest copper producer in Europe and help Serbia become the largest copper producing country in Europe.
Guest of honor
Serbia is one of the guests of honor of this year's CIFIT and a strategic investment destination for Zijin Mining. During the fair, the two sides achieved fruitful results in investment projects and community programs.
"CIFIT is a platform for cooperation between Chinese and Serbian companies, helping Serbia attract more businesses for investment and cooperation," said Ms. Maja Stefanović, Serbian Ambassador to China. "Over the past year, direct flights from Beijing and Tianjin to Belgrade have been launched. We welcome the arrival of friends from China, which will bring more business opportunities to Serbia."
Further investments
On the morning of September 8, at the opening ceremony of the Serbian Pavilion, Zijin Mining and Serbia officially signed a donation agreement. Under the agreement, Zijin Mining will donate 1.2 million euros to the University of Belgrade to help boost Serbia's capabilities in biomedicine.
On the afternoon of September 9, at the Serbia Investment Environment Forum, Zijin Mining and Serbia signed MOUs on investment projects worth more than USD 4.1 billion. This includes the memorandum of understanding on the development of the lower zone of the Čukaru Peki Copper-Gold Mine, valued at USD 3.811 billion and the MOU on the Zijin Longking 300MW PV Project, worth USD 300 million.
Dubravka Đedović, Minister of Mines and Energy of Serbia, said that the mining industry as a share of Serbia's GDP has doubled to 2.4%, and Zijin Mining's investments have made great contributions to the rising significance of mining while helping reduce the unemployment rate in Serbia. The mining industry will become a key driving force for the development of Serbia in the next decade.
Visit to Zijin’s headquarters
On September 10, Minister Dubravka Đedović led a delegation to visit the headquarters of Zijin Mining. Together with the company's President, Mr. Zou Laichang, she planted an evergreen tree symbolizing China-Serbia friendship at the Zijinshan mine.
In an interview with reporters from Telegrafska Agencija Nove Jugoslavije(Tanjug) and Radio Television of Serbia(RTS), Minister Đedović said that the Zijinshan Copper-Gold Mine is a large project with a high output and serves as a good reference case for mines in Bor. Like Zijin's mines in Serbia, the Zijinshan mine is abundant in green areas and reclaimed land covered by vegetation.
She further noted that the mine is using more and more clean energy for its production and is powered by solar projects independently designed and built by Zijin, demonstrating that the company is fully capable of building renewable energy projects in Serbia.
Translator: Li Yuanxing Reviser: Jian Editor-in-Chief: Wang Jie