They chose Scholz, not Xi: Serbia refused multibillion-dollar cooperation with China

They chose Scholz, not Xi: Serbia refused multibillion-dollar cooperation with China Irina Chebotnikova

Serbia has opted for the EU in lithium mining/Channel 24 collage, photo from Getty Images

Lithium will be mined there together with Germany and the EU, without the Chinese. This decision will bring Serbia closer to the European Union. President Aleksandar Vučić firmly rejected negotiations on lithium mining with China.

Journalists have already called this step by Belgrade a turn towards Europe. It is interesting that Serbia was talked about as one of the priority countries for Beijing next to Hungary and France.

Why they refused to mine in Serbia lithium together with China

We will be able to produce 58 thousand tons of lithium annually. This is enough to produce 1.1 million electric vehicles. Therefore, we will be able to provide approximately 17% of the European market. We want to preserve, as far as possible, the process of creating added value in our country. We want to establish the production of batteries in our country and export only part of the lithium in the form of raw materials,” explained Aleksandar Vucic.

The lithium mine project is going to be implemented by the international mining giant Rio Tinto. In Serbia they hope that this will allow the development of the automotive industry, because lithium is needed for the key element of electric vehicles – batteries.

The country is negotiating the production of batteries with the concerns Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Stellantis. South Korea is also interested. But the Chinese were refused.

“They very clearly expressed their interest in gaining access to this lithium deposit. However, we told them that we are discussing this topic with the Europeans. We are loyal to Europe,” Vucic said.