Chinese Ambassador to Serbia Li Manchang (L) awards Serbian President of the National Council for Cooperation with China and Russia Tomislav Nikolic the honorary president of China-Serbia Economy Association in Belgrade, Serbia, on July 24, 2018. China-Serbia Economy Association (CSEA), which aims to gather prominent companies to further develop the cooperation and exchange between the two countries, was founded here on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Nemanja Cabric)

BELGRADE, July 24 (Xinhua) -- China-Serbia Economy Association (CSEA), which aims to gather prominent companies to further develop the cooperation and exchange between the two countries, was founded here on Tuesday.

Inviting companies to become members of the association, the Chinese Ambassador to Serbia Li Manchang said that the establishment of the association is a result of his cooperation with Tomislav Nikolic, former president of Serbia and current president of the National Council for Cooperation with China and Russia, and that it will in the future represent significant service for both the Chinese and Serbian people that work together to build the economic cooperation.

According to Xu Li, president of the China-Serbia Economy Association, the goal of the association is to actively respond to the Belt and Road Initiative in a situation when the economic cooperation is developing comprehensively by creating a platform and promoting exchange among companies.

"It will both provide immense support to the companies from China to invest and grow in Serbia, while it will also significantly help Serbian companies that plan to develop on Chinese market," Xu said, adding that some of the members of the association, such as China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), HBIS Serbia Group, Huawei, Shangdong Hi-Speed Group, YTO Group Corporation and China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) already gave an immense contribution to the development of the cooperation between the two countries.

Nikolic, who was awarded with the certificate naming him the honorary president of the association, said "I invite Serbian businessmen and companies to get involved in the work of this non-obligatory and the most useful association."

Serbian President of the National Council for Cooperation with China and Russia Tomislav Nikolic speaks at the founding ceremony of China-Serbia Economy Association in Belgrade, Serbia, on July 24, 2018. China-Serbia Economy Association (CSEA), which aims to gather prominent companies to further develop the cooperation and exchange between the two countries, was founded here on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Nemanja Cabric)