Interview with H.E. Ambassador Fan Kun
– Ambassador of People’s Republic of China in Montenegro –
Bilateral relations between the People’s Republic of China and Montenegro have been going on for 18 years. How do you assess the current diplomatic relations between these two countries and what are the key areas in which you see room for further improvement of cooperation?
I believe that China and Montenegro have a profound traditional friendship and a solid public foundation. The bilateral relationship has three main pillars, namely: political mutual trust, economic and trade cooperation, and cultural exchange. At the same time, in China-Montenegro exchanges, China has always adhered to the three principles, which are: mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, and equality and mutual benefit.
In terms of political mutual trust, it should be said that there are basically no problems between the two sides. China believes in the equality of all countries, whether big or small, and never interferes in Montenegro’s internal affairs. Montenegro has always adhered to the one-China principle and respects China’s position on major issues concerning China’s core interests, such as the Taiwan question. The one-China principle is also the cornerstone of the relationship between the two countries and is clearly written into the communiqué on the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The Montenegrin government and all political parties adhere to the one-China principle, which has created favorable conditions for the healthy and stable development of the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries.
In terms of economic and trade cooperation, driven by the Belt and Road Initiative and the China-Central and Eastern European Countries Cooperation Mechanism, both countries are willing to promote the continuous development of bilateral relations and practical cooperation. The priority section of the Bar-Boljare Highway project undertaken by a Chinese company has become a landmark project of cooperation between the two countries, and the M2 motorway reconstruction and expansion project from Tivat to Budva is also being implemented smoothly. In addition, the two sides also cooperate on some energy projects, such as the Možura wind power plant project and the Pljevlja thermal power plant ecological transformation project. I believe that the two sides will be able to create new highlights of cooperation on the basis of mutual benefit and win-win results.
In terms of cultural exchanges, the former Yugoslav film “The Bridge” filmed on the Tara Bridge and its theme song “Bella Ciao” are still well-known all over China, and Chinese tourists are very interested in visiting Montenegro and the Tara Bridge. At the same time, young people in Montenegro are also very fond of Chinese language and culture. Montenegrin contestants Alisa Bogdanović and Ksenija Perović both won the global championship in Chinese language “Chinese Bridge” in the Primary School and Middle School students category respectively. The relevant departments of the two countries are also discussing signing cooperation agreements in the fields of culture and tourism in order to facilitate further people-to-people exchanges and cooperation.
Culture plays an important role in bringing people together. What are the most important cultural projects and initiatives that the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Montenegro is currently implementing or planning in order to strengthen mutual cultural ties?
First of all, China attaches great importance to the cultural and educational cooperation between China and Montenegro. As early as 2009, China and Montenegro signed the “Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Culture, Education, Social Sciences and Sports between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of Montenegro”. According to the cooperation agreement, China and Montenegro will encourage and support exchanges and cooperation between relevant institutions of the two countries in culture, education, social sciences, sports, publishing, broadcasting, film and television, on the principle of equality and mutual benefit. In January this year, the 2024 World Digital Education Conference was held in Shanghai. The Minister of Education of Montenegro participated in the event at China’s invitation. The conference showcased the latest achievements in China’s digital education, built an international exchange and cooperation platform for digital education, put forward the concept of smart education, and advocated the establishment of the World Digital Education Alliance. During the meeting, the two ministers of education signed a new round of China-Montenegro education cooperation agreement and an agreement on mutual recognition of academic qualifications and degrees.
Secondly, cultural exchanges and educational cooperation are important contents of bilateral cooperation between China and Montenegro. Cultural exchanges are an important way to enhance mutual understanding and friendship between people and promote exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations. I believe that the foundation of cultural exchanges lies in the people and the future lies in the youth. Since last year, four groups of educators and young students have been organized between the two countries and the visits of these groups have greatly enhanced the cooperation and exchanges in the field of education between the two countries and have also effectively promoted the exchanges and mutual learning of the cultures of the two countries. In addition, in June this year, during the visit of the Deputy Mayor of Shanghai to Montenegro, she signed with the Mayor of Kotor a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of international art festivals between the two cities.
Lastly, Chinese language education has become a highlight of the educational cooperation between the two countries. At present, Chinese language education around the world has shown great vitality. More than 180 countries have launched Chinese language education projects, 84 countries have included Chinese in their national education systems, and more than 4,000 universities have established Chinese language departments, majors and courses. We have established a Confucius Institute at the University of Montenegro and a Confucius Tourism Classroom at the University Donja Gorica, and a Chinese Studies major has been established at the UDG as well. All these attest to the popularity of Chinese language education in Montenegro. What is more worth mentioning is that primary and secondary school students in Montenegro have won the global championship in Chinese knowledge, the “Chinese Bridge”. Considering the population size of Montenegro, these achievements are indeed applaudable.
Tourism has been the most important economic activity in Montenegro for decades. To what extent is Montenegro represented as an interesting tourist destination among Chinese citizens?
I have a couple of opinions regarding this issue:
First, the memory of Montenegro is the most beautiful memory for many Chinese. When talking about the attraction of Montenegro as a destination to the Chinese people, we have to mention the movie “The Bridge” about the Tara Bridge and the heroic story of resisting fascism described in the movie. These former Yugoslav literary and artistic works have had an indelible impact on several generations of Chinese people. They are still well-known in China and have become a part of Chinese culture and even a part of Chinese life. Many Chinese people are dreaming of visiting the Tara Bridge and meeting the people of Montenegro. Chinese tourists who come to Montenegro will definitely visit the Tara Bridge. Their purpose may not only be to see this heroic bridge with their own eyes, but also to fulfill a “hero dream” they have longed for since childhood.
Second, Montenegro can become a bridge connecting China and Europe. Montenegro has magnificent natural scenery and profound cultural heritage, which has made Montenegro known as the “Pearl of the Balkans”; at the same time, due to its superior geographical location and friendly business environment, Montenegro can also become a bridge and window connecting China with the Balkan countries and even other European countries. Therefore, many Chinese travel agencies are optimistic about the tourism market in Central and Eastern Europe and are willing to develop European tour packages including Montenegro.
Third, the prospects for tourism cooperation between China and Montenegro are broad. During the Dragon Boat Festival holiday in China last month, the domestic tourism market in China was booming. According to statistics, during the three-day holiday, the number of domestic tourists in China totaled 110 million, and tourism revenue was about 5.2 billion euros, showing the strong tourism demand and strong consumption capacity of the Chinese people. Outbound travel is also popular among Chinese consumers. The number of overseas cruise, car rental and chartered travel bookings during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday doubled. It is believed that the tourism cooperation between the two countries will continue the rapid development momentum which started before the pandemic and continue to show a high-speed growth trend.
Your country is recognized as an important investor in the Balkans and in Europe. In which areas does the People’s Republic of China see the most partnership investment potential in relations with Montenegro?
Driven by the Belt and Road Initiative and the China-CEEC cooperation mechanism, both countries are willing to see the bilateral relations and practical cooperation continue to move forward. The people of both countries are willing to carry out friendly cooperation in various fields. The priority section of the highway project undertaken by a Chinese company stands as a high-quality landmark. According to statistics from the Monteput, since it was opened to traffic in July 2022, more than 4.45 million vehicles have passed safely through this section, which is equivalent to each Montenegrin citizen passing through this section of the highway seven times. It can be said that it has brought great convenience to the travel of the people of Montenegro. In addition, the two sides are also working on some energy cooperation projects. For example, the Možura wind power station is operating well, and the ecological transformation project of the Pljevlja thermal power plant is progressing steadily, which will continue to promote the further construction of Montenegro as an ecological country.
Regarding future cooperation between the two sides, China and Montenegro have a profound traditional friendship, huge potential for cooperation in various fields, and broad prospects for development. Chinese companies have a clear edge in terms of production capacity and technological breakthrough in the fields of building highways, high-speed railways, and new energy power generation plants, and are ready to cooperate with Montenegro. In the future, the Chinese Embassy will continue to promote Chinese companies with both strength and credibility to invest and start businesses in Montenegro, help Montenegro strengthen connectivity with countries in the Western Balkans, fully unleash Montenegro’s location advantages on the Adriatic coast, and strengthen the development and cooperation between the two countries in science and technology, medicine, innovation, e-commerce and other fields, creating new growth points for China-Montenegro cooperation. Looking into the future, China and Montenegro should carry forward the friendship across time and space and pursue cooperation without any restricted areas.
Montenegro, although a small market, is becoming an increasingly interesting location for foreign investors, including Chinese ones. What do you think are the key factors that attract Chinese investors to Montenegro?
First, the traditional friendship between the two countries is profound and the public opinion foundation is solid. As early as the former Yugoslavia times, the two peoples forged a deep friendship. This has led to a unique fondness in the hearts of the Chinese people when they think of the Montenegrin people, and has also laid a solid public opinion foundation for the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries’ businesses.
Second, the two countries have common development needs and can learn from each other. China is still a developing country and needs to further improve the quality of development and maintain long-term growth on the existing basis; at the same time, it continues to promote the expansion of employment, improve people’s living conditions, and forestall and resolve various economic risks. Montenegro is also currently facing the goals and tasks of expanding employment, optimizing industrial structure, and promoting green development. The two sides can learn from each other and draw on each other’s successful experience in economic and social development in deepening economic and trade cooperation.
Third, the two sides have obvious complementary advantages and broad prospects for cooperation. As a true friend and good partner of Montenegro, China will continue to firmly support Montenegro’s development. Chinese companies have clear production capacity and technological advantages in the fields of building highways, high-speed railways, new energy power generation plants, new energy vehicles, etc., and are in a leading position in the world in these areas. At the same time, Montenegro has beautiful natural scenery, a friendly investment environment, and a sound legal system. Many Chinese companies are very willing to invest in Montenegro. Through the friendly cooperation between the two countries’ enterprises, we can promote Montenegro to give full play to its location advantages, strengthen connectivity, integrate into regional cooperation, and build a connectivity hub.
How do you assess the current geopolitical situation in the world? How does the People’s Republic of China view the Western understanding of the development of a multipolar order? How do you see the role of the People’s Republic of China in the modern environment?
At present, the global landscape is undergoing profound changes. We are living in an era full of challenges, but also an era full of hope. World multipolarization and economic globalization are the general trend of human social progress, but the parties have different views on what kind of multipolarization and globalization are needed. China advocates that we should achieve equal and orderly world multipolarization and inclusive economic globalization.
Equal multipolarization means that equal rights, opportunities and rules apply to all countries. We should no longer allow a few major countries to monopolize international affairs, or allow some countries to be at the table while others can only be on the menu. Orderly multipolarization means that we should jointly abide by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and jointly uphold the universally recognized basic norms of international relations.
Inclusive globalization is to make the pie of economic development bigger and better divided, so that different countries, different classes and different groups of people can participate in and enjoy the fruits of economic and social development, and achieve common development and common prosperity. Inclusive globalization is to support all countries to find a development path that suits their national conditions, abandon unilateralism and protectionism that harms others and benefits only oneself, and maintain the stability and smoothness of the global industrial chain and supply chain.
China seeks its own development while firmly safeguarding world peace and development, and better safeguards world peace and development with its own development. The Chinese people always believe that China will do well only when the world does well, and vice versa. Last year was the 10th anniversary of President Xi Jinping’s proposal to jointly build the “Belt and Road”. By the end of June last year, China had signed more than 200 cooperation documents on jointly building the “Belt and Road” with more than 150 countries and more than 30 international organizations around the world, delivering a large number of landmark projects. This includes the priority section of the Montenegro highway project built by a Chinese company. The “Belt and Road” initiative originated in China, but the opportunities and results belong to the world. It is an initiative for the common progress of all mankind and has opened up a new path for the common development of all countries. President Xi Jinping emphasized on many occasions that the Belt and Road Initiative is a public road open to all, not a private path owned by one single party. All interested countries are welcome aboard to take part in the cooperation and share in its benefits. The Belt and Road Initiative is an economic cooperation initiative that pursues peaceful development. It seeks to promote openness, inclusiveness and common development, rather than forming small circles behind closed doors. It does not draw boundaries based on ideology, and does not engage in zero-sum games. As long as countries are willing, all are welcome to participate.
As the world’s largest developing country, China is firmly committed to the path of peaceful development. It is firmly committed to building a new type of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness and justice, and win-win cooperation. It is committed to building an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security, and common prosperity, and is committed to building a community with a shared future for mankind.