New Chinese investments announced by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić during his visit to China will amount to almost one billion euros. This could improve the picture of foreign direct investment in Serbia, which recorded a sharp decline last year, although it is still unclear how much of the announced investment will actually be realised and whether Serbia will gain new expertise or simply serve China as a gateway to the European market.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić is currently visiting China, where new investments by Chinese companies in Serbia worth more than 940 million euros have been agreed, along with plans for 1,650 new jobs.
Numerous Chinese companies already operate in Serbia, but the structure of these investments appears somewhat different. So far, most discussion has focused on projects within the automotive industry, as well as artificial intelligence, chips and robotics.
Thus, the nearly one billion euros in new investments in Serbia could improve the picture of foreign direct investment (FDI), which saw a significant decline last year.
Total FDI inflows into Serbia in 2025 amounted to just under 3.5 billion euros, which is 33.5 per cent less than in 2024, when inflows stood at around 5.2 billion euros.
On the other hand, investments by domestic companies abroad increased significantly, reaching around 1.2 billion euros, which is as much as 90.8 per cent higher than in 2024.
Net FDI inflows into Serbia in 2025 totalled 2.3 billion euros. However, this inflow more than halved compared to the previous year, declining by 50.5 per cent.
Nenad Jevtović, director of the Institute for Development and Innovation, told Danas that there was indeed a significant fall in FDI last year, but added that this was something that happened throughout Europe. “It is not surprising that this happened here as well last year. However, that situation should not conceal what would have happened in the years ahead in any case, because our growth model is predominantly based on foreign direct investment and large public investments,” he pointed out.
For that reason, he added, these investments from China are welcome. “This is something positive, but the question remains when they will be realised and to what extent what has been agreed will actually materialise. At the moment, we only have a broad outline,” Jevtović said.
He recalled that in 2024, Serbia reached around four billion euros in foreign direct investment, so when this additional billion euros is spread out, it is not something that solves all problems. Jevtović also noted that there are no guaranteed investments, but that investments from China differ from those coming from Europe.
“Investments from Europe came, and continue to come, primarily because of Serbia’s cheap yet relatively qualified labour force. That balance between cost and quality was extremely favourable for us, which is why they started arriving. The Chinese do not need that. The Chinese come here to get as close as possible to supply chains in Europe, to approach the European Union and to expand their economic influence,” Jevtović explained.
In his view, these motives are neither good nor bad, but it is important to recognise them when shaping economic policy. “I think our decision-makers have recognised this, which is why we have this famous balancing act between two, three or four chairs,” he noted.
Jevtović also explained that Serbia serves as a good gateway for the Chinese into the European market and that this should be used to Serbia’s advantage. As he pointed out, Serbia cannot become dependent on Chinese capital, but its economic growth is already dependent on foreign direct investment.
Speaking about the robot factory, he stressed that Serbia could benefit through export growth, employment and technology transfer, if such transfer actually takes place.
“Whatever they give us, we are currently at such a stage of development that this transfer of technology is significant for us. Through technology transfer, the quality of our workforce is also improved. But if that does not happen, if Chinese engineers come to work in those factories without sharing knowledge, then that is not the best outcome for our economy.”
(Danas, 28.05.2026)
https://www.danas.rs/vesti/ekonomija/investicije-kina-tehnologija-roboti/