LOZNICA, Serbia–September 29, 2026 –Chinese investment has helped drive industrial recovery and create new employment opportunities in the Serbian city of Loznica, where a major auto-parts manufacturing project has contributed to an 11-fold increase in district exports and thousands of new jobs.
The transformation is closely linked to investment by Minth Group, a Chinese auto-parts manufacturer based in Zhejiang Province. Since entering Loznica, the company has expanded its local operations from an initial investment of 100 million euros into a manufacturing cluster of nine factories, employing nearly 5,000 people.
The development has taken place against the backdrop of a difficult period for Loznica’s industrial economy. Before 2018, the city’s industrial park had largely fallen into decline, with factories standing idle and unemployment reaching about 11,000 people. The situation contributed to an outflow of young people seeking employment elsewhere.
Minth Group broke ground on its Loznica project in April 2019, with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić attending the ceremony. More than 70 Chinese employees subsequently traveled to Serbia to help establish the plant and production lines, working alongside the company’s first 28 Serbian employees. Full production began in March 2022.
Today, the Loznica site produces more than 60 percent of Europe’s aluminum-alloy battery housings. The company recorded revenue of 461 million euros in 2025 and contributed millions of euros in corporate taxes to local government.
According to figures from the local government, exports from the district have increased 11-fold, while unemployment has fallen from 12,500 to between 3,000 and 3,500. Average wages have also reached around three times their 2018 level. Additional local government revenue has supported the construction of roads, schools and kindergartens, while the industrial zone has attracted a growing number of small and medium-sized suppliers.
“The city has recovered on every front,” said Dragana Lukić, mayor of Loznica.
Jobs and opportunities for local families
The changes have also been reflected in the lives of local workers.
Bojičić, 37, previously worked on construction sites in Germany and returned to Loznica after learning that a new factory was being built in his hometown. He is now a team leader in the cleaning process, while his wife works in the general affairs department and his older cousin works in quality control.
In July 2026, the couple welcomed their child. The company provided maternity leave for employees and subsequently offered a year of parental leave while keeping their positions open.
At the Loznica plant, local employees have also taken on increasing management responsibilities. Of the company’s first 28 Serbian employees, 21 have moved into management positions. Management salaries are around 2,000 euros per month, according to the company’s figures.
“For us, what matters is what you deliver and what you are worth,” said Ivanović, who progressed from an operator position to production manager.
Radoš Gazdić, director of the Development Agency of Serbia, said Chinese companies investing in Serbia are required to comply with Serbian laws, including labor regulations, describing their practices as “quite fair.”
From auto parts to humanoid robots
The cooperation between China and Serbia has also expanded beyond traditional manufacturing.
Minth Group has described Serbia as a “central kitchen of Europe,” citing the country’s location in the center of the continent, access to the European market and favorable tariff conditions. Products supplied to European automakers can complete 70 to 80 percent of their front-end processing in Serbia before being shipped to other European markets. The company also said customers can be served within a radius of around 100 kilometers.
The development reflects the combination of China’s integrated industrial supply chains and Serbia’s localized manufacturing capabilities.
The cooperation has continued to expand into emerging industries. On May 27, 2026, during President Vučić’s visit to China, Jiaxing in Zhejiang Province was his first stop after leaving Beijing. He visited a robot training facility and witnessed the signing of two follow-on investment projects worth more than 200 million euros.
On Aug. 29, Europe’s first humanoid robot mass-production base began operations in Šabac, around 70 kilometers from Belgrade. Vučić attended the launch ceremony and said Serbia is becoming a frontrunner in the mass production of humanoid robots in Europe.
“It used to be that we followed Europe’s trends,” said Aleksandar Pajić, mayor of Šabac. “Now Europe will have something to learn from us.”
Technology and skills development have been an important part of the cooperation. Employees in key positions receive training at the Jiaxing plant before returning to Serbia, while the production line is open to local employees.
Zečević, a professor at the University of Kragujevac, said the development should be viewed as an opportunity for cooperation and shared interests.
A growing connection between China and Serbia
Over the past four months, reporters from Jiaxing Media Group have followed developments linked to Chinese investment and China-Serbia cooperation, from President Vučić’s visit to Jiaxing to manufacturing projects in Loznica and Šabac.
For local residents, the impact of the investment can be seen not only in industrial output and employment figures, but also in changes to everyday life, including the return of workers who had previously sought jobs abroad.
The cooperation has also created new opportunities for exchanges between the two countries. As Chinese and Serbian employees, students and business representatives continue to travel between the two countries for work, training and other exchanges, the relationship is developing through increasingly direct connections between people.
For Serbia, the expansion of Chinese investment has brought new manufacturing capacity, employment opportunities and industrial cooperation. For the companies and communities involved, the projects represent an ongoing process of economic and people-to-people engagement between China and Serbia.
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