Belgrade poised for second China route

The Chinese Ambassador to Serbia, Li Manchang, has confirmed that talks are underway for the introduction of a second service from China to Belgrade, after Hainan Airlines established flights between Beijing and the Serbian capital via Prague last September. "We see cooperation between China and Serbia at a historic high and a bilateral relationship going from strength to strength. Our friendship is ironclad. Therefore, I would like to use this opportunity to reveal a secret. We are currently discussing the introduction of a second service between Belgrade and another Chinese city", Mr Li said at a forum dedicated to Serbia - China relations. The ambassador played an instrumental role in talks between Hainan Airlines and the Serbian government over flights to and from Beijing which lasted throughout the winter and spring of last year.

Although the ambassador did not identify the Chinese city from which the new service could be established, the City of Belgrade said last November that talks over the introduction of flights from Shanghai would begin in the near future. Initial discussions over the route are believed to have taken place with Hainan Airlines, Air China and China Southern Airlines. Apart from Hainan Airlines, whose parent company, the HNA Group, has signed a Letter of Intent for cooperation with the Serbian government earlier this year, Air China has also publicly expressed interest in serving the Serbian capital. According to Sabre Airline Solutions, most of the traffic flow between China and Serbia over the past few years has originated from Shanghai, not Beijing. This is partially believed to be because the largest portion of Chinese nationals residing in Serbia have their origins in two provinces south of the Shanghai region.

Mr Li noted that the number of Chinese visitors to Serbia has significantly grown since the two countries abolished visa requirements for each others' nationals in January of last year. A total of 51.691 Chinese tourists visited Serbia in 2017, up 180.8% on the year before, while the number of overnight stays stood at 94.845, an increase of 120.6%. Hainan Airlines has told EX-YU Aviation News it will maintain services from Beijing to Belgrade this summer at two per week via Prague with its Airbus A330-300 aircraft. A number of Chinese companies are currently investing in Serbia which is expected to increase the demand for business travel between the two nations as well. Recently, Chinese company Mei Ta announced the construction of a second car parts factory in the country, while work on a Serbian-Chinese Industrial Park is also set to commence this year, with some forty large Chinese companies signing up to be based at the premises.