Embassy of China, Belgrade

Embassy of China in Belgrade
中國駐塞爾維亞大使館
Fromer embassy building in 2009, 10 years after its bombing
Map
LocationBelgrade, Serbia Serbia
Address25 Užice Street
AmbassadorMing Li
Websiters.china-embassy.gov.cn/chn/

The Embassy of China in Belgrade（Chinese: 中國駐塞爾維亞大使館 ; Serbian: Амбасада НР Кине у Републици Србији）is the official diplomatic mission of People's Republic of China to the Serbia. The embassy was opened in 1955, and the current ambassador is Ming Li.

History

Establishment of relations

The history of the Chinese embassy in Serbia can be traced back to the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Yugoslavia in 1955, when embassies were established in Belgrade and Beijing, and both sides exchanged ambassadors. The Chinese side appointed Wu Xiuquan, the Deputy Foreign Minister at the time, to be the ambassador to Yugoslavia. On April 13, 1955, Qiuye Zhou, adviser for state affairs at the Embassy, came to Yugoslavia to prepare for the opening of the embassy. Then, on May 24, Wu Xiuquan arrived in Yugoslavia, and presented to Yugoslav president Josip Broz Tito his letter of credence two days later.[1] At the site of the former embassy, there was originally a three-story residence of a high-ranking Yugoslav official, built in a Western style with three marble columns. The first Yugoslav ambassador to China Milentije Popović used to reside here.[1]

Bombing

Main article: United States bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade

At 11:45 p.m. local time on May 7, 1999 (early dawn on May 8, Beijing time), a B-2 bomber that took off from the United States launched five JDAM bombs that directly hit the Chinese embassy building. Three Chinese journalists, Shao Yunhuan from Xinhua News Agency, along with Su Singhu and Zhu Yi from Guangming Daily, were killed on the spot. More than twenty employees were injured, and the embassy building was completely destroyed.[2] After this accident, the Embassy rented premises in several different locations until further notice.[3]

Recent period

In 2004, the Chinese government signed an agreement with the government of Serbia and Montenegro on the issue of the embassy premises. The Chinese side agreed to hand over the right of ownership to the site of the old embassy, and in return, Serbia and Montenegro would provide land for the construction of a new building free of charge. On May 7, 2008, the nine-year commemoration of the bombing, the new embassy organized the foundation stone–laying ceremony.[4] On July 15, 2010, the building officially held an opening ceremony. Wu Bangguo, then president of the Chinese Standing Committee arrived at Serbia for this occasion, and cut the ribbon at the ceremony.[5] At the end of 2010, Belgrade's city administration demolished the remains of the bombed embassy, and placed a commemorative plaque in that place.[2] In 2017, the construction of the Chinese Cultural Center in Belgrade began.[6]

List of Ambassadors

This section is an excerpt from List of ambassadors of China to Serbia § List of representatives.[edit]
Diplomatic agrément/Diplomatic accreditation Ambassador Chinese language
中国驻塞尔维亚大使列表 		Observations Premier of the People's Republic of China President of Yugoslavia/Serbia Term end
February 26, 1955 Wu Xiuquan 伍修权 Zhou Enlai Josip Broz Tito September 1, 1958
September 1, 1958 Chargé d'affaires August 1, 1970
August 1, 1970 Zeng Tao 曾涛 Zhou Enlai Josip Broz Tito April 1, 1973
August 1, 1973 Zhang Haifeng 张海峰 Zhou Enlai Josip Broz Tito April 1, 1978
July 1, 1978 Zhou Qiuye 周秋野 Hua Guofeng Josip Broz Tito January 1, 1981
May 1, 1981 Peng Guangwei 彭光伟 Zhao Ziyang Sergej Kraigher November 1, 1983
December 1, 1983 Xie Li 谢黎 Zhao Ziyang Mika Špiljak November 1, 1986
June 1, 1986 Tian Zengpei 田曾佩 Zhao Ziyang Sinan Hasani April 1, 1988
January 1, 1988 Ma Xusheng 马叙生 Li Peng Raif Dizdarević July 1, 1991
March 1, 1991 Zhang Dake 张大可 Li Peng Borisav Jović 1993
December 1, 1992 Li Peng Dobrica Ćosić
December 1, 1992 Zhu Ankang 朱安康 Li Peng Dobrica Ćosić May 1, 1998
December 1, 1997 Pan Zhanlin 潘占林 May 7, 1999: United States bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. Li Peng Slobodan Milošević October 1, 2000
April 1, 2000 Wen Xigui 温西贵 Zhu Rongji Vojislav Koštunica January 1, 2003
April 1, 2003 Li Guobang 李国邦 Wen Jiabao Svetozar Marović June 3, 2006
June 3, 2006 Restoration of Serbia's independence. Wen Jiabao Boris Tadić
June 3, 2006 Li Guobang 李国邦 Wen Jiabao Boris Tadić 2008
August 1, 2008 Wei Jinghua 魏敬华 Wen Jiabao Boris Tadić July 1, 2011
August 1, 2011 Zhang Wanxue 张万学 Wen Jiabao Boris Tadić June 1, 2014
July 1, 2014 Li Manchang 李满长 Li Keqiang Tomislav Nikolić 2023
October 2, 2023 Li Ming 李明

From 2020 to September 2023 he was ambassador to the Solomon Islands.

Xi Jinping Aleksandar Vučić
[7]

References

  1. ^ a b Wu, Xiuquan (1983). 在外交部八年的经历(四). 世界知識. pp. 12–15.
  2. ^ a b "The night the US bombed a Chinese embassy". BBC News. 2019-05-06. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
  3. ^ Kong, Hanbing (2011). 凭吊中国原驻南联盟大使馆. 世界知識. pp. 62–63.
  4. ^ "中国驻塞尔维亚大使馆举行新馆址奠基仪式_新闻中心_新浪网". news.sina.com.cn. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
  5. ^ "吴邦国出席中国驻塞使馆新馆舍竣工仪式". 2010-07-15. Archived from the original on 2018-12-19. Retrieved 2023-11-01.
  6. ^ "贝尔格莱德中国文化中心："为塞中人民友谊架起新桥梁"". 2018-12-26. Archived from the original on 2019-10-19. Retrieved 2023-11-01.
  7. ^ Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, Chinese Ambassadors to Serbia and Montenegro, [1], 驻塞尔维亚和黑山历任大使, [2]