Sometimes Goran
can’t believe his eyes. I can’t believe they’ve
ruined so much so quickly. They’ve done all this
in less than a year. Eastern Serbia has large
gold and copper deposits. Mines are springing
up at lightning speed. The builders
are Chinese firms and they have brought
their labor forces with them. Serbia is the Balkan state closest to
China, and China has big plans for it. Bor is Europe’s biggest copper mine,
250 kilometers southeast of Belgrade. China acquired
it in 2018. Goran Jakovlevic
lives here... in one of the most polluted
places in all of Serbia. For years he has watched
his home town be sold off. He complains that
the Serbian state has imposed no regulations
on the new owners. And there is far
too little information. We’ve just rolled over
and left everything to them. It’s like eastern Serbia has
somehow been sacrificed. I don't know if it’s because
of Chinese influence in international
organizations or because they give us
cheap loans for new highways. Driving around the mine,
the scale on which China is building here
becomes clear. The gold and copper are to be
extracted as quickly as possible. Gigantic new sites are being
developed and access roads built, all with imported labor. After their shift,
the workers return to their lodgings. The mood
seems good. No one
speaks English. The locals watch the expansion with
suspicion, expecting worse to come. At first, they’re only
mining the surface layer. Underneath, deeper in the
ground, there is a gigantic area, five to six kilometers across,
that stretches all the way to Bor. When they finish mining
the surface in about ten years, they will continue deeper
underground and reach the town. Then Bor and its people
will have nothing left. Goran is in contact with the
residents around the mine. They are all
in danger. Southeast Europe has
welcomed Chinese investment. Serbia is a literal gold mine for
major new infrastructure projects. The country is feverishly
expanding its rail and road networks. Half of all projects
have gone to China. In return, China will get
the long-awaited connection to Western Europe from
the Greek port of Piraeus. Serbia has become
China’s bridge to Europe, symbolized by
the Pupin Bridge. At 15 hundred
meters long, and one of the most important
Danube crossings in Belgrade, it was the first
Chinese project here built by Chinese
firms with Chinese funds. China's Serbian policy is built on the
principle of modern infrastructure. Investments and
loans worth billions in exchange for influence
and access to Europe. Another prestige project
is the high-speed rail line between Budapest and Belgrade, a joint
venture by Serbia, China and Russia. A Chinese bank is
financing the lion’s share of the more than two
billion euro project. China has a strong interest in
an effective Balkan rail network. The capital Belgrade is
the investment hot spot. Construction will soon
begin on a subway system, financed and
built by China. Chinese companies will also
build a new sewage treatment plant for the Serbian capital, an estimated
investment of almost 10 billion euros. China is active in
commercial enterprise. A recent Chinese investment is an
automotive factory in northern Serbia, which will also produce
parts for German companies. Its launch in the spring of 2023
was virtually a state ceremony. President Aleksandar Vucic
sees Chinese involvement in his country as
a great opportunity. It’s a good
partner of Serbia. We have had, so far, a
very regular relationship and they have been
investing hugely into our steel mill
and our copper mine. And it was an open, transparent
tender procedure for that copper mine. Another few companies had applied
for that and it was pretty much the same case
with the steel mill and they saved more than 5000 people’s
jobs in a very important city. Of course they work together with us on many important
infrastructure projects, but still by far the biggest
investor in Serbia is Germany. The new Chinese
cultural center in Belgrade symbolizes
Serb-Chinese relations. The Chinese embassy
once stood here, but it was destroyed by NATO
bombs during the Kosovo War. The new modern building is a testament to the bonds
between the two countries. Liu Yu works for the Chinese
state railway corporation in Belgrade, which supports these good relations. He makes good money
as a department head. Liu is on his way to an appointment
with a Serbian business partner. A lot of money
is at stake. Liu believes China's presence
here makes Serbians wealthy. Chinese investment has made it easier for Serbians to find
work and earn more. So I think it’s a win-win
situation for everyone involved. Liu has an
unusual hobby, establishing contact between
Serbian and Chinese firms. So far it is voluntary,
in his spare time but one day he
hopes to earn from it. Liu is a kind of private
lobbyist for China. He arrives at Belt, a Serbian
company outside Belgrade. Liu wants to persuade the owner to make
new deals with his Chinese clients. Hello, how are you? Hi, fine thanks. Come in. Liu wants to ensure that ordered
shipments will arrive on time. Look, I promised you there
would be no supply bottlenecks, and we're still well on
track, all on schedule. We should finish as
quickly as possible so there aren’t any work stoppages. I'm also here to
ask about the prices, because there have been
some wild fluctuations. The partners would like
more certainty about this. The war in Ukraine has
stressed the economic situation. Liu is trying to talk the
Serbian businessman down. Only then will the
Chinese agree. Their price expectations
are still far apart. The first Chinese who
immigrated permanently to Serbia in the late 1990s started doing
business here, in Block 70, the market. It is a maze of more
than 300 stores and stalls. In the middle of the market, Kit
and his Serbian partner Jovana run a small art school
for Chinese children. What about
this part here? I want to finish
painting the tree first. Kit is a child
of immigrants. His parents came to
Serbia for economic reasons. When we first came here, everyone
assumed that if you were Chinese you sold
fast-food or socks. Now the Chinese
here live relatively well. Not all, but if they started early and
have been in business for some time, they’re doing
very well. You can tell by their
cars and houses, and the private schools
their children attend, which can cost 20,000
dollars or euros per year. Kit, too, wants to
earn a good living. He has several jobs and
often works well into the night. The little art
school is a side job. A large part of his income
comes from marketing for Chinese firms
and restaurants. The Chinese trust more in other
Chinese and prefer to work with them whenever they can. Not only in social media
marketing, but generally. They would rather bring someone over
from China, for example as a cook, and pay twice what they would
for a local cook who is just as good. I guess it's part of
the Chinese mentality we trust
ourselves the most. He says he often works
until three in the morning, which his parents
found reassuring. But now he wants to change, to
become part of Serbian society a dream which could come
true within the next few days. A few meters away. Weiya Chen
is off today. The Chinese 25-year-old is showing her Serbian friend
Sanya around the market. Everything is new
and exotic to Sanya. Weiya knows almost
every shop in Block 70. She wants to show Sanya
where she spent her childhood. To do so, they have to enter a
cordoned-off section of the market that was the scene of
a fire a few years ago. Entry is forbidden, but
the area is not secured. Weiya hasn’t
been there in years. So this was my
parents’ shop, 140. Weiya’s parents had
a shoe store here. It’s really
heartbreaking. It feels like all my memories have
burned with the shop, with everything. My uncle’s shop was
over there, upstairs. We were also
neighbors. It’s all burned. Weiya’s father died and her
mother has moved back to China. Weiya has decided to
stay and is now on her own. The country is in
a gold-rush fever. Building is happening
everywhere, and many of the large construction
sites are in Chinese hands. Serbia is part of
the New Silk Road, one of the world’s largest
infrastructure projects. It will link the Chinese
and European markets. These workers are building 40
kilometers of a new highway section. They are
more talkative: How many
days working? Three years. Three years
in Serbia. Hard work or
good work? I love Serbia,
it’s good work. Here is work, and
where do you live? Over there. Here, too, the Chinese
corporate policy is clearly evident: They bring their own workers,
who earn 1200 euros per month, significantly higher than
the Serbian average. They are paid to
be reliable and fast. Most of the Chinese workforce
lives in shared barracks, which we are not
allowed to film. Permanent immigrants live in the
apartment blocks around the market. The Chinese have always
found Serbia attractive, not least because of their
shared communist past. And the community
is growing. Weiya lives here
too, with her cat. Her name is Pidjo,
that literally means beer. Because I love drinking beer,
that’s why her name is beer. As an office worker and
translator for a Chinese firm, she earns enough to afford a
middle-class lifestyle, a pet and a BMW. The only thing she sometimes
misses is her mother. Why aren’t you
working today? Because it’s the
weekend, Mum. Oh, I completely
forgot. Hi Pidjo, it’s me,
your grandma. Why are you
ignoring me? Weiya contacts her family
using Chinese software. We don’t use Google, we
don’t use Facebook or Instagram, these applications, but we
do have our own applications. And if you want to contact
with your foreign friends, it’s just impossible
that you can do it. Maybe only
through e-mails. But can you understand
why it’s not allowed? Not really, because no
one explained that to us. It’s just
forbidden. But she never felt
restricted in China. You basically do
everything in China. Probably it’s not really free to talk
too much about politics in China, but the thing is, we don’t
really talk about politics. Because we trust our government
and we just don’t talk about it. So it’s not like it’s forbidden
and we really want to talk about it. It’s something that
we never talk about. Weiya claims, for example, not
to know about the war in Ukraine. Perhaps her non-political
stance explains why she seems to have
no problem with surveillance. I felt safer in China, because
we have cameras everywhere. We don’t have homeless people, we don’t
have a lot of crime, so it’s really, really safe to go out
in China at any time. Even if we didn’t have these
cameras, everybody is watching us, because we have our cell
phones, we have our computers, they can look through our
personal data very easily. So I think the cameras they put
on the roads are protecting us. In the last few years, more cameras
have been showing up in Belgrade, too. 8000 are planned
to be installed. Danilo Krivokapic chairs
an NGO for data protection. He is raising awareness
about the cameras. It says, ‘Don’t record
my face with this camera.’ The cameras are produced
by the Chinese firm Huawei. Danilo’s problem is that they
can be upgraded with software also Chinese - with
facial recognition. This is the place where people
gather, this is where people meet, try to go out in the city, but
it’s also where people protest. And here we can see
four out of 18 cameras that are placed
around the square. This means that the whole
square is completely covered with this type
of camera. During a protest,
authorities can learn who is critical of the government. Belgrade is the first European city
where "smart" cameras are widespread. Danilo’s organization
has started a campaign to pressure the Serbian government
to ban the use of this technology. People just need to feel that
somebody is watching them. This is the only
thing that is important. And when they feel that somebody
will know what they’re doing, with whom they are meeting,
if they’re going to protest, they’re going to
change their behavior. I believe this is very dangerous
for a democratic society. Chinese companies are
already at the forefront in Serbia when it comes to digital
infrastructure, such as the 5G network. Is Serbia a testing ground for
Chinese surveillance technology? Critics warn of
excessive influence. But no one in business
seems worried. The orientation toward
China is strategic. So are the close ties with
Russia, also a Slavic country. But Serbia also sees itself as
committed to the European Union. What looks from outside
like a see-saw policy is, from a Serbian
viewpoint, just politics. The nearly
seven-million-strong country in the middle of the Balkan
peninsula sees itself as non-aligned, independent and free in its foreign policy and
choice of business partners. A path successfully trodden by
the communist former Yugoslavia. The former Serbian and
Yugoslavian royal residence in the center of Belgrade
symbolizes this continuity. It is now the official residence
of the President of the Republic, an office held since
2017 by Aleksandar Vucic. The former minister of information
under Slobodan Miloševic, and later Prime Minister,
governs the country unchallenged. At the start of the Covid pandemic,
he showed he’s got options. Chinese-flagged planes landed at
Belgrade airport, embarrassing the EU. China was the first to
deliver masks and vaccines. Serbian-Chinese
vaccine diplomacy. In military terms, too, Serbia
sees no need to commit. The government bought an
air defense system from China as a signal
to the West. Its position on the Russian war
in Ukraine is also non-committal. While Serbia condemns
Russia at the UN, Aleksandar Vucic does
not sign off on sanctions. The head of state heeds no
criticism for taking this path. Speaking about Russia, it was
not me that was going to Moscow. It was many EU leaders that went
to Moscow, since the war started. But I didn’t say
anything to anyone. Why do you believe
that some EU leaders have the right to do whatever
they want and that we should not act as an
independent state? The West is watching
Serbia's back-and-forth policy with increasing concern. The European Parliament
is alarmed that China is exploiting Serbia's
ailing infrastructure and offering modernization
and generous loans. The fear in Strasbourg is
that Serbia is helping China to buy into and establish
itself in Europe on a large scale. Serbia has been an official
candidate for EU membership for years, so its actions are seen
as particularly problematic. The Ukraine war is not just a
local event between two countries, but is likely to pose the
fundamental question: Are you on the side of democracy
or of autocracies and dictatorships. Russia is clearly
identifiable as a dictatorship, and China is going in this direction
with President Xi’s third term. And so, for Serbia, the
fundamental question arises: on which side
do we stand? Do we want to go into the
future with Russia or China. Do we expect
more there? Or do we want to go toward Europe, that is, toward the free
world and democracy. No one can take this
decision away from the Serbs. They have to make it themselves, but
it cannot be postponed much longer. Back to the Serbian
company in Belgrade. Liu Yu is mainly interested
in developing his business. How has it
gone for him? Has he been able to convince
the Serbian businessman to expand his business
with the Chinese? I think this is only the
beginning of our cooperation, when we try to make good on
all of our promises, and we did. So we hope to increase the percentages
in the following months and years. They seem to
have made a deal. Liu has launched seven
such partnerships so far. He needs 20 before he can
start charging for his services and earn from them. On the way back,
Liu begins to relax. Liu lives with his Chinese wife
in a two-bedroom apartment. She is shy and doesn’t
want to be filmed. He shows us his
wedding photos. They have both gone
through hard times. After spending
the pandemic apart him in Serbia
and her in China they finally celebrated
their wedding. This is traditionally
Chinese. But that wasn’t
enough for his wife. So the couple was baptized Orthodox. Liu is pragmatic. But his sympathies
are with his homeland. The big topic on Chinese television
tonight is the China - Taiwan conflict and the planned visit
by a US democrat. The problem arises when a third party
interferes, in this case the U.S., which pursues its own interests and
sets the brothers against each other, even selling weapons
to the younger brother and making money
from this dispute. Liu is convinced there
will be no escalation or war. But on the news we see
warships, aircraft carriers, fighter planes taking
off, all for show? China just wants to show
that we are strong enough and can hold
our own in a war. We’re showing our muscles,
showing that we’re strong, that's all. Liu feels happy in
Serbia and wants to stay. He is driven to keep
business running and it does. China is now at the top of its
economic game, he says with pride. But the boom China is bringing
to Serbia comes at a price. The Balkan nation owes
China some 8 billion euros, about a quarter of
the country’s total debt. China is poised to become
the largest foreign creditor in the entire
Western Balkans. This is especially
true for Serbia. No one knows what will happen if Serbia can no
longer service its debts. Could China use this scenario to demand
long-term access to Serbian territory? European parliamentarians
have long been warning about growing
Chinese influence, and about potential
environmental damage by Chinese-run
industrial companies. Serbia is often suspected of
having low environmental standards, lax controls and a
lack of transparency. Many EU Parliamentarians
are not convinced that Serbia is clearly committed
to Europe. The country has been a
membership candidate since 2012. The concern is that if Serbia
becomes an EU member state, China could influence European
policy through the back door. One demand is that, if Serbia
really wants to join the EU, it must become less
dependent on China. We cannot postpone for much
longer the fundamental question of who is on the side of
democracy and the rule of law. We must decide within
months, or a few years at most. And Serbia also has
to make its decision. If we are serious about
the prospect of enlargement, then Europe must
also be able to reform. China is buying into Serbia with the
view of it becoming a member of the EU, and thus being in the position to block
European foreign policy toward China. That must
not happen. Our foreign policy must
move away from one country being able to stop and block
the entire European Union. If we can do that, then
enlargement steps like Serbia will also become
easier for us Europeans. Belgrade feels it is
being treated unfairly and recalls the German
Chancellor’s journey to China with a
trade delegation. Why should Germany have the right to
do business with China, but not Serbia? The question of where they
stand seems to have been decided. The majority of Serbs
want to join the EU. The president
knows that, too. But he does not understand
European concerns about becoming too financially
dependent on Chinese debt. Tell me, what’s the difference
between owing money to Germans and owing money to
Chinese or to Americans. Money’s money. It’s not marked. There are irresponsible governments
that always ask for some money, to get it from somewhere,
and then they say ‘Well, that’s because
we owe to Chinese.’ No, you have to handle how to tackle
your public finances in a proper way. Then you have
no problems. We have no problems
with public debt. Public debt to GDP ratio is the
best and the lowest in the region. We have no problems
with public debt at all, because we take care
of our public finances. Everything is
under control. We are the very best
place for investment. That’s why German investors are
coming in huge numbers to our country. The Chinese community
in Serbia, including Weiya, has little interest
in these issues. In a bold decision,
Weiya has left her job with the Chinese
entrepreneur on short notice. How do you feel after
both of you quit your jobs? We feel wonderful! I’ve been planning to
open up my own café or dessert shop for a really
long time, for almost two years. Because of Covid, I
couldn’t start it very early, so that’s why I decided
to quit from this job. I’ve finally found my partner here,
and so I’m really excited about this. They have an appointment
today with a roastery to have their own
coffee creation blended. You’re such
a perfectionist! Weiya is a
businesswoman. In her new café, she
wants to sell a roast that includes
Chinese coffee beans. They anxiously
await the result. It has a very
sour taste. At the beginning, it’s a bit sour,
but at the end it’s very bitter. And you can feel it on your
tongue that it’s very bitter. They decide on the
blend with Chinese notes. Now that they have the
coffee, all they need is a space. An agent meeting downtown. Plans for the café are becoming
more concrete every day. Basically we want to open
up a kitchen, a cake shop. What do you think? Is this place able to become
a kitchen for desserts? The property is a bit quirky,
but they both seem to like it. Rent is 500
euros per month. What do you
think of the price? I think it’s
quite OK. Yeah, it’s OK
for the space. Weiya documents
everything for her mother, who will give her the
money for the café: her wedding dowry, which Weiya prefers
to invest in her passion project. I think I’m most likely
going to take this place. I’ve been looking at so many places and
this is the best one that I can find. I need to have a kitchen in my
store, so it has to be separate. So that I can make sure that
my cake is made in a safe place and it’s all clean. And this is just the
perfect place for us. She is not afraid
of the business risk. Everyone knows each other,
all the Chinese people in Serbia. So once they know I have a shop
here, they will all come and visit. The lease will be
signed in a few days. Since 2010, China has drastically
increased its investments in Serbia. Chinese corporations have built
bridges, highways, and train lines. Sewage plants and the Belgrade
subway are next on the agenda. And while political relations between
the two countries are strengthening ... so are personal
relationships. A wedding is taking place tonight in an exclusive restaurant
outside Belgrade. Weiya is among
the guests. Kit, the art teacher
from Block 70, is marrying his
Serbian fiancée Jovana. He has arrived. Today he is joining
the Serbian community. Weiya has realized a dream
with her own café in Serbia. Marriage is a distant
prospect for her. But when she does think
about getting married, she doesn't want
to do it in China. I think it’s going
to happen here, because I’m planning to stay
in Serbia for a really long time. 250 kilometers
southeast of Belgrade, Bor, the town with Europe’s largest
copper mine, is coming to life. The cityscape is now
distinctly Chinese. Goran Jakovlevic sees how
his home town has changed. He regularly visits the people
who live beside the mine, at the edge of the pit. They all fear
what’s coming. How is life here? How? Terrible. What about
the dust? Dust, commotion,
terrible. When will they
resettle you? No idea. Lots of talk and
nothing happens. Are the authorities
looking after you? They do nothing
and say nothing. You’re left to fend
for yourselves. The excavation
destabilizes the ground. Cracks are already
showing in many houses. At some point, it
could all collapse. These are the losers in the
China-Serbia economic arrangement. The family has been waiting
for months to be resettled. Soon, they will have to
say goodbye to their home.
