Serbia‐China Bilateral Trade Relations: Major Challenges and Opportunities

Jovičić, Elena and Stevanović, Slavica and Beraha, Isidora (2020) Serbia‐China Bilateral Trade Relations: Major Challenges and Opportunities. Economic Analysis: journal of emerging economics, 53 (2). pp. 133-144. ISSN 1821-2573

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Abstract

Considering the growing presence of China in Serbia and deepening the overall bilateral relations,
the main objective of the paper is to analyze the major trends and changes in the bilateral
merchandise trade between both countries. The paper also focuses on exploring the main challenges
as well as determinants for enhancement of trade relationships in the upcoming period.
The total trade between Serbia and China has been steadily growing over the last decade. The value
of total trade in 2019 compared to 2010 is increased twice, the value of imported and exported
goods grew twice and almost 45 times, respectively. Despite the rapid growth, the Trade Intensity
Index shows that trade between Serbia and China is under-represented, implying there is a space for
improvement.
Some obstacles hinder trade relations between Serbia and China. One of the main challenges stems
from the fact that China shares its influence in Serbia using investments rather than trade. On the
other side, Serbia does not have enough capacity to meet Chines market demand, which is among
other things a result of the domination of low value-added products in the total Serbian exports.
In order to overcome the obstacles, Serbia should focus on its comparative advantage as well as
attracting the Chinese investment in the strategically important sectors. Furthermore, it is essential
for Serbia to develop a strategic approach to trade policy towards China, which implies better
promoting of export growth, relevant support of Serbian exporters as well as more active
engagement around trade matters during official negotiations with China.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	COBISS.ID=27933961
Uncontrolled Keywords:	bilateral trade, exports, imports, Serbia, China, trade intensity index
Research Department:	Macroeconomics
Depositing User:	Jelena Banovic
Date Deposited:	21 Jan 2021 09:50
Last Modified:	26 Nov 2021 10:29
URI:	http://35.240.28.64/id/eprint/1536
Author Links:	[error in script] No links available.

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