Friendship of China and Serbia shines brightly during these dark times

The novel coronavirus pandemic has been a crisis for national health systems and it forced the governments of many countries to issue stay-at-home instructions and mandatory social distancing in order to prevent their countries' health systems from being overwhelmed.

But it is not just health systems that have felt the impact, so too has the global order. Although economically advanced Western countries, such as Germany, Italy and Spain, are recognized as stable and strong, this turmoil has revealed the vulnerabilities of their political systems. Values that are typical upheld by democratic regimes such as freedom of movement are not compatible with the actions necessary to resolve this global issue. For example, claims that it violated human rights forced German Chancellor Angela Merkel to change a "prohibition on movement" to a "prohibition on social contacts".

The resolute response of the Chinese government to the pandemic surely saved many lives and it can serve as a good example to the rest of the world how to behave in these circumstances. When the outbreak of the virus was first reported in Wuhan, China faced a more difficult situation than the rest of the world today. There are many reasons for that, not only is China the country with the largest population in the world, but the outbreak needed to be responded to just before the Chinese New Year holiday which is a peak season for travel and social interactions. It was also an unexpected and unknown phenomena and no other country in the world had previous experience of dealing with the virus. It was obviously a very difficult but crucial decision by the Chinese government to lock down Hubei province. However, that move not only decreased the number of deaths, but also the number of infected people. Nowadays, when considering the statistical data to make comparisons how countries have responded to the pandemic, it should be borne in mind that China acted by imposing a strict quarantine. The Chinese government managed to control the spread of the virus very successfully and their strict control measures combined with the high level of discipline displayed by Chinese citizens have been instrumental in curbing the spread of the disease.

China serves as a good example for managing the pandemic situation, it is very socially responsible and ready to help other countries that are facing the same problems.

When national borders between countries closed in order to limit further spread of the coronavirus, some of the countries also disengaged with their moral values such as solidarity and willingness to help their neighbors. Italy, where the virus spread rapidly, was left to fend for itself by other members of the European Union.

Even though the member states of the EU did not help Italy and other hard-hit countries in Europe, assistance came from Asia. China provided help to Italy, as well as France, Germany, Spain and Serbia. And besides donations to the World Health Organization, China has helped other countries through special meetings, videoconferences and other communication, sharing its know-how in combating this novel coronavirus, as well as providing medical equipment and protective items. China's experience of epidemic control is for the whole international society.

Almost everyone has complimented and applauded China's demonstrations of solidarity and cooperation with other countries during this global public health crisis. But for a small country in the Balkan region to which China extended help right away, its assistance has been especially significant and appreciated. In terms of its size and population, Serbia is a small country but it has forged a strong friendship with China.

Relations between China and Serbia are characterized as a comprehensive strategic partnership. China is one of the most important pillars of Serbia's foreign policy today. Serbia has managed in less than a decade to develop very close foreign relations with China, and they have realized many significant and lucrative cooperative infrastructure projects in Serbia－such as the Pupin Bridge and the Belgrade-Budapest high-speed railway. Zijin Mining (RTB Bor) and China's Hesteel Group (Smederevo Ironworks) are considered to be major employers in Serbia and part of the foundation of the industrial capacity of Serbia. Also, the liberalization of the visa regime between Serbia and China that was agreed in 2017, has contributed to a rapid increase in the number of Chinese tourists, which has increased mutual understanding and goodwill between the Chinese and Serbian people.

All the aforementioned have ensured that the Chinese did not forget their Serbian friends in these difficult times. They reacted fast and not only sent Serbia a large amount of necessary medical equipment, but also provided support to Serbia by sending a team of medical experts from China who had valuable experience in fighting the virus.

The Chinese act of offering global help in combating against the virus deserves real praise from the global community and every citizen of China should be proud of its country at this moment. But also citizens of the Republic of Serbia should be proud of having a friend like China, a country which does not forget its friends when they are facing difficult times. Serbia will always appreciate and respect that.

The author is a researcher at the Faculty of Political Sciences at University of Belgrade. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.