Leader says Serbia is proud to give citizens Chinese vaccine
Serbia’s leader says he is proud his country became the first in Europe to give its population the COVID-19 vaccine product made in China
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Serbia’s leader expressed his gratitude to Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday for 1 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, saying he is proud Serbia became the first European country to give its population the pharmaceutical product made in China.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said after meeting with the Chinese ambassador in Belgrade that by receiving the Sinopharm vaccine, “the citizens of our country expressed deep trust in the Chinese vaccine and with that also in the Chinese state and Chinese experts.”
This was not the first time the populist president publicly praised China and its Communist Party leader. Vucic kissed the Chinese flag when China delivered masks and other protective equipment in March 2020, and he criticized the European Union for an alleged lack of solidarity at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Vucic was less critical of the EU this time, although he has said that he “felt sick” when he learned that some unnamed member nations secured vaccine doses multiple times above the number needed to inoculate their populations while holding back on deliveries to poorer countries.
Although Serbia is formally seeking EU membership, it has at the same time turned to both China and Russia which has also promised to supply large quantities of the Russian-developed Sputnik V vaccine. Serbia is also negotiating to produce the Russian vaccine.
Vaccine delivery is turning into a foreign policy matter in the Balkans, which was promised EU help in securing does through the U.N.-backed COVAX Facility, but no shots have been delivered through the program so far.
Serbia managed to purchase the Chinese vaccine and smaller quantities of Sputnik V and the Pfizer-BioN-Tech vaccines through direct deals, helping the country launch one of the quickest vaccination campaigns in Europe.
Vucic urged China Wednesday to deliver the rest of the Serbia's ordered vaccines as soon as possible. He did not specify the quantity.