With a bit of luck, Chinese tourists vacationing in Belgrade late this summer could speak to the police in their native language. The government in Beijing sent six officers to Serbia to patrol with their local counterparts in several cities. In Belgrade, they roamed the Knez Mihailova promenade, the airport and a Chinese shopping center on the outskirts of the city.
Background of the assistance from Beijing is, at least according to official data, that more and more Chinese tourists were traveling to Serbia; The presence of local policemen made them feel safer. Similar cooperations of the Chinese security authorities already exist in Italy, where police officers from the People's Republic have been regularly traveling with officials from Rome, Venice or Milan for some years. Policemen from abroad are not patrolling in Serbia for the first time, but cooperation with Beijing is a novelty here.
"So far, China has been mainly interested in lending money to Serbia," says Vuk Vuksanovic, a Serb-born scientist at the London University of Economics and Political Science. "Now China is also getting involved in national security and the intelligence sector, which is a big shift in the market." In May, the interior ministers from Beijing and Belgrade drafted a memorandum of understanding that, in addition to joint police operations, also provides for cooperation in the fight against cybercrime.
What authority has been given to the Chinese officials is unclear. The lack of public transparency of the cooperation has already caused criticism. It is clear that China has been trying for years to increase its police presence abroad. So-called liaison officers are increasingly being used in Chinese embassies and consulates to increase the security of the authorities, according to a report by the Mercator Institute for China Studies (Mercis). In addition, there are joint operations in the areas of drug crime and human smuggling. Spanish and Chinese officials jointly lifted a trafficking ring three years ago.
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Patrol in Italy: Chinese officials in the Piazza di Spagna in Rome
In fact, more and more prosperous Chinese citizens can afford to travel abroad - and are at a higher risk of becoming victims of internationally organized crime. In addition, China's leadership has been seeking greater participation in global governance for years anyway. However, not without setbacks: Although the appointment of the Chinese Meng Hongwei as head of the police department Interpol in 2016 was a coup, two years later Meng disappeared when visiting a home without a trace. Chinese authorities later said he pleaded guilty to corruption and resigned.
"Gateway to Europe"
Beijing supports dozens of projects in Serbia, including investments by the Chinese in the steel and defense industry. The Chinese leadership has already lent more than five billion euros to Serbia, the loans are part of the gigantic infrastructure project, and the countries of the Balkans are considered to be a strategically important gateway to Europe. In addition, Serbia hopes to join the European Union next year. "Serbia is a good place for the Chinese to anticipate how far they can go in the European market - on infrastructure projects, but also in connection with sensitive technologies and armaments," says expert Vuksanovic.
The Sino-Serbian cooperation in the security sector meanwhile goes beyond common police patrols. According to information from the website "Nikkei Asian Review", they are part of the comprehensive project "Safe City", for which the Chinese group Huawei supplies the technology: In the whole of Belgrade, a total of 1000 Huawei cameras with face recognition software will be installed in the next two years.
Armor deal with Beijing
The details of the agreements between the Chinese company and the Serbian Ministry of the Interior are treated as "state secrets" and there is little transparency here as well. The project is completely in the Ministry, said Huawei spokesman Liu Yinhanxiao, according to the website "Foreign Affairs". "We provide the devices, we do not control data and private information."
Marko Djurica / REUTERS
Chinese officials in Belgrade: More security for tourists from the Far East?
Only a few weeks ago, the Serbian government announced one of China's largest Chinese armaments deals in Europe after the end of the Cold War: in the coming months, nine armed drones of the Chinese manufacturer AVIC are to be delivered to Serbia. Possibly should follow more orders, it was said in media reports.
"The drones and Huawei are bringing a new security component to the integration of Serbia into the New Silk Road," says Vuksanovic. The Belgrade government's main concern is to get the most out of working with Beijing, also in order to put pressure on the EU to move ahead with the accession negotiations. The possible EU accession is not only a tough affair for Serbia. Only a few days ago it became known that the neighboring countries Albania and Macedonia could not begin the already promised accession negotiations.
The commitment from China therefore uses Serbia to position itself as independently as possible against the EU. Chinese-Serbian police walks through downtown Belgrade are just the beginning. Defense Minister Aleksander Vulin recently hinted that the Serbian government will also be able to present joint military exercises with Chinese troops.