Chinese and Serbian police officers attend a launching ceremony of their first joint patrol in Belgrade, Serbia, Sept 18, 2019. (Photo by Nemanja Cabric/Xinhua)
The first joint patrol of Chinese and Serbian policemen was presented to the public in downtown Belgrade on Wednesday.
The ceremony held on the main street of the Serbian capital was attended by Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic, a delegation of China's Ministry of Public Security, Chinese Ambassador to Serbia Chen Bo, and dozens of Serbian and Chinese citizens who waved the flags of the two countries.
Stefanovic explained that the police officers will conduct joint patrols at several locations in the city that are considered either tourist attractions or important locations for Chinese citizens in order to make communication easier for them.
"By cooperating within these mixed patrols, we can receive from our Chinese colleagues help in communication, which will make work more efficient and better," Stefanovic said.
He said that such patrols are important, recalling that this year Serbia expects the number of Chinese tourists to increase by 40 percent and implying that they need to feel safe here.
"Activities like this one -- that will be organized, besides Belgrade, also in Novi Sad and Smederevo -- show the importance of security, and how much attention we attach to our cooperation, and stress our sincere wish to cooperate," he concluded.
Chen pointed out that the governments of Serbia and China decided to launch joint patrols in order to improve the safety of the citizens of both countries, and that the move reflects their intention to cooperate closely and meet the needs of the people.
"During their time in Serbia, the Chinese policemen will engage in joint patrols, operate an emergency phone service in Chinese, and visit places where Chinese citizens, companies and institutions live. They will assist the Serbian police in order to improve the safety of Chinese citizens even further," she said.
The ambassador said that the strengthening of the two countries' comprehensive strategic partnership resulted in increased exchanges between the peoples of China and Serbia.
"Since the visa liberalization between China and Serbia was put into force, there has been a significant inflow of Chinese tourists, and we are glad that China became one of the major sources of tourism in Serbia. These joint patrols will serve the Chinese tourists, making them feel safer, and add a new vitality to the cooperation between China and Serbia in the area of tourism," Chen said.
The presence of Chinese policemen will contribute to Belgrade's image of an open international metropolis, Chen concluded, announcing that in the near future Serbian policemen will also patrol the streets of cities in China.
