(Beijing, 21 December 2013) The high-level Symposium of the think tanks between China and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe was held in Beijing on 19 December 2013. The Symposium was organized by the Secretariat for cooperation between China and CEE, and the China Foundation for International Studies (CFIS). The event was attended by more than 300 representatives of the governments of CEE countries and China, representatives of the research institutes, independent organizations, think tanks, academia and others.

From the Republic of Serbia the meeting was attended by the special advisor to the First Deputy of the Prime Minister of Serbia, N. Stevanović; the former MFA of Serbia and former President of the 67 Session of the UN GA and the director of the Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development V. Jeremić; the former minister of education of Serbia and previous National coordinator for cooperation under the mechanism China – CEE Ž. Obradović; financial director of the company "Telekom" M. Dželetović; former Chief of General Staff of the Serbian Army and former deputy of the MFA Z. Ponoš; former advisor to the MFA and UN GA President D. Krnjević Mišković; former minister of culture of the FR of Yugoslavia and Dean of the Faculty of Media and Communications at the University "Singidunum" N. Popović Perišić and professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade D. Mitrović.

In separate presentations on various panels, the participants of the Symposium stressed the importance of cooperation between China and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, with particular emphasis on strategic partnership between Serbia and China.