BELGRADE -- Serbia has extradited five Chinese citizens in the last five years, according to data obtained by RFE/RL.
While one extradition case between China and Serbia was made public in 2021, the new instances, which were obtained by RFE/RL’s Balkan Service through a freedom-of-information request from the Serbian Justice Ministry, shows extraditions took place on a larger scale than previously known.
That cooperation is also set to grow as the Justice Ministry prepares to submit to parliament a draft extradition law with China that, if passed, would expand the scope of cooperation between Beijing and Belgrade.
In response to questions from RFE/RL, the Justice Ministry said it is currently writing the draft law and is "obtaining the opinions of other competent institutions." After that, the ministry said it "will initiate the procedure for ratification" of the treaty between Serbia and China.
SEE ALSO: Chinese-Made Surveillance Cameras Are Spreading Across Eastern Europe, Despite Security ConcernsThe extradition agreement was signed in May during a state visit by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to Belgrade and is a sign of the deepening ties between the two countries. During that trip, Xi and Serbian President Aleksandr Vucic boosted their strong partnership with 28 new agreements, setting the stage for further cooperation in areas such as law enforcement and the media.
The extradition deal, which would regulate the bilateral extradition of citizens charged with crimes, is seen by experts as a response to the influx of tourists and Chinese nationals to Serbia that have corresponded with high-profile Chinese investments and loans for projects through Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
A main thoroughfare in Belgrade decorated with Chinese and Serbian national flags ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's May 7-8 visit.
According to data from Serbia's National Employment Service, more than 45,000 work permits have been issued to Chinese citizens since 2016, the year the ruling Serbian Progressive Party started intensifying relations with Beijing and expanding BRI projects.
Serbia’s Interior Ministry told RFE/RL there are currently 3,433 Chinese citizens registered in the country.
SEE ALSO: China Builds A New Symbol In The Balkans -- At The Site Of A NATO BombingPetar Vidosavljevic, a lawyer at the Belgrade Center for Human Rights, a Belgrade-based NGO, tells RFE/RL that visa-free travel between the two countries has made it easier for Chinese to come to Serbia, including criminals.
But he added that questions remain over how Serbian "authorities will apply this agreement" and whether they will monitor it for instances of misuse.
Extradition Concerns
Beijing has faced criticism from watchdog groups for using the extradition system around the world to not only bring back criminals but also political dissidents and those from vulnerable groups, such as the country's Uyghur community.
The Madrid-based NGO Safeguard Defenders has warned about Beijing abusing the system.
The group says China has thus far signed more than 60 bilateral extradition treaties with countries around the world and more than 40 of them have been ratified by national parliaments.
A Belgrade billboard in April 2020 showing Chinese leader Xi Jinping says, “Thanks, Brother Xi.”
And since Xi came to power in late 2012, Safeguard Defenders has recorded nearly 70 attempts by the Chinese government to have 400 people extradited to China. Most of them were in Europe and the extradition requests were deemed to be based on tenuous legal grounds.
Serbia has signed extradition treaties with numerous countries, such as the United States, Germany, Belarus, Turkey, Croatia, Montenegro, and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
But in the last five years, courts in more than a dozen European Union member states have stopped adhering to extradition requests from China, due to suspicion that the person whose extradition is sought would face repression, abuse, and extrajudicial retaliation back home.
SEE ALSO: Reports Of China's Overseas 'Police Stations' Spark Controversy, Denial In Hungary And SerbiaA Serbian Snapshot
In the cases documented in the data obtained by RFE/RL about Serbia extraditing Chinese nationals, all five of the Chinese were pursued on criminal charges -- three on charges of fraud, one for money laundering, and one for inflicting serious bodily harm.
All five cases took place under Serbian domestic law that covers international criminal issues.
SEE ALSO: Serbia's First Sex-Trafficking Case Involving Chinese Citizens Set For CourtThe new treaty, if ratified by parliament, could streamline that process, Vidosavljevic says. But he adds that with the contents of the deal signed in May not publicly available, there are concerns among human rights advocates as to whether all elements of the agreement will be disclosed.
The contract Serbia signed with China raised concern among human rights experts because it has still not been made public, Vidosavljevic adds.
Several contracts signed between Belgrade and the Chinese government or Chinese state-owned companies remain secret and came under scrutiny.
Most recently, there has been public backlash over the contracts with Chinese construction companies that renovated and rebuilt parts of the main railway station in the Serbian city of Novi Sad, whose roof collapsed and killed 15 people.
Serbian authorities said Chinese firms did not replace the roof that collapsed and that the contracts will not be publicly disclosed due to secrecy provisions in the deals.