The world has become multipolar again and China is an increasingly prominent global factor - this is what Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić told journalists in Prague, where he is participating in the GLOBSEC 2025 global security forum. He stressed that Serbia will continue to maintain good relations with China, Russia and the US, while at the same time not giving up on its European path. His words were quoted by the Serbian news agency TANJUG.
"It is important for us to achieve higher economic growth, to increase salaries and pensions, and for our country to look increasingly modern and advanced. This is our goal and we are working hard for it," Vučić stressed.
During the panel discussion "Seize the Moment: Creating Lasting Partnerships in the Neighborhood," the Serbian president answered a question about whether Western democracies should oppose authoritarian regimes, referring to China. Vučić expressed disagreement with the simplistic black-and-white worldview spread by Western media, according to him.
"People, pull yourself together a little. All of Europe cannot catch up with China. How can we catch up? With what can we catch up? They are on motorbikes, and we are on bicycles," the Serbian leader said figuratively. He pointed out that while the EU's economic growth this year is expected to be around 0.7%, China's will reach 5.7%.
According to him, the global picture is no longer dominated by a single force. Vucic noted that even US President Donald Trump is clearly aware of China's role as a key rival and strategic competitor of the United States.
"The world is no longer the way CNN and other Western media see it. It is much more difficult to observe it because it is multipolar again," Vucic concluded.