# Embassy of China, Belgrade

The Embassy of China in Belgrade（Chinese: 中國駐塞爾維亞大使館 ; Serbian: Амбасада НР Кине у Републици Србији）is the official diplomatic mission of People's Republic of China to the Serbia. The embassy was opened in 1955, and the current ambassador is Ming Li.

## History
### Establishment of relations

The history of the Chinese embassy in Serbia can be traced back to the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Yugoslavia in 1955, when embassies were established in Belgrade and Beijing, and both sides exchanged ambassadors. The Chinese side appointed Wu Xiuquan, the Deputy Foreign Minister at the time, to be the ambassador to Yugoslavia. On April 13, 1955, Qiuye Zhou, adviser for state affairs at the Embassy, came to Yugoslavia to prepare for the opening of the embassy. Then, on May 24, Wu Xiuquan arrived in Yugoslavia, and presented to Yugoslav president Josip Broz Tito his letter of credence two days later. At the site of the former embassy, there was originally a three-story residence of a high-ranking Yugoslav official, built in a Western style with three marble columns. The first Yugoslav ambassador to China Milentije Popović used to reside here.

### Bombing

At 11:45 p.m. local time on May 7, 1999 (early dawn on May 8, Beijing time), a B-2 bomber that took off from the United States launched five JDAM bombs that directly hit the Chinese embassy building. Three Chinese journalists, Shao Yunhuan from Xinhua News Agency, along with Su Singhu and Zhu Yi from Guangming Daily, were killed on the spot. More than twenty employees were injured, and the embassy building was completely destroyed. After this accident, the Embassy rented premises in several different locations until further notice.

### Recent period

In 2004, the Chinese government signed an agreement with the government of Serbia and Montenegro on the issue of the embassy premises. The Chinese side agreed to hand over the right of ownership to the site of the old embassy, and in return, Serbia and Montenegro would provide land for the construction of a new building free of charge. On May 7, 2008, the nine-year commemoration of the bombing, the new embassy organized the foundation stone–laying ceremony. On July 15, 2010, the building officially held an opening ceremony. Wu Bangguo, then president of the Chinese Standing Committee arrived at Serbia for this occasion, and cut the ribbon at the ceremony. At the end of 2010, Belgrade's city administration demolished the remains of the bombed embassy, and placed a commemorative plaque in that place. In 2017, the construction of the Chinese Cultural Center in Belgrade began.

## List of Ambassadors

| Diplomatic agrément/Diplomatic accreditation | Ambassador | Chinese language 中国驻塞尔维亚大使列表 | Observations | Premier of the People's Republic of China | President of Yugoslavia/Serbia | Term end |
| February 26, 1955 | Wu Xiuquan | 伍修权 | From February 1955 to September 1958 he was ambassador to Yugoslavia. From April 1975 to January 1978 he was minister of Information of the General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. | Zhou Enlai | Josip Broz Tito | September 1, 1958 |
| September 1, 1958 | | | Chargé d'affaires | | | August 1, 1970 |
| August 1, 1970 | Zeng Tao | 曾涛 | | Zhou Enlai | Josip Broz Tito | April 1, 1973 |
| August 1, 1973 | Zhang Haifeng | 张海峰 | | Zhou Enlai | Josip Broz Tito | April 1, 1978 |
| July 1, 1978 | Zhou Qiuye | 周秋野 | | Hua Guofeng | Josip Broz Tito | January 1, 1981 |
| May 1, 1981 | Peng Guangwei | 彭光伟 | | Zhao Ziyang | Sergej Kraigher | November 1, 1983 |
| December 1, 1983 | Xie Li | 谢黎 | | Zhao Ziyang | Mika Špiljak | November 1, 1986 |
| June 1, 1986 | Tian Zengpei | 田曾佩 | | Zhao Ziyang | Sinan Hasani | April 1, 1988 |
| January 1, 1988 | Ma Xusheng | 马叙生 | | Li Peng | Raif Dizdarević | July 1, 1991 |
| March 1, 1991 | Zhang Dake | 张大可 | | Li Peng | Borisav Jović | 1993 |
| December 1, 1992 | | | | Li Peng | Dobrica Ćosić | |
| December 1, 1992 | Zhu Ankang | 朱安康 | | Li Peng | Dobrica Ćosić | May 1, 1998 |
| December 1, 1997 | Pan Zhanlin | 潘占林 | May 7, 1999: United States bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. | Li Peng | Slobodan Milošević | October 1, 2000 |
| April 1, 2000 | Wen Xigui | 温西贵 | | Zhu Rongji | Vojislav Koštunica | January 1, 2003 |
| April 1, 2003 | Li Guobang | 李国邦 | | Wen Jiabao | Svetozar Marović | June 3, 2006 |
| June 3, 2006 | | | Restoration of Serbia's independence. | Wen Jiabao | Boris Tadić | |
| June 3, 2006 | Li Guobang | 李国邦 | | Wen Jiabao | Boris Tadić | 2008 |
| August 1, 2008 | Wei Jinghua | 魏敬华 | | Wen Jiabao | Boris Tadić | July 1, 2011 |
| August 1, 2011 | Zhang Wanxue | 张万学 | From June 2001 to February 2007 he was Chinese Ambassador to the Republic of Macedonia. From October 2007 to August 2010 he was ambassador to Bulgaria. From August 2011 to June 2014 he was ambassador to Serbia. | Wen Jiabao | Boris Tadić | June 1, 2014 |
| July 1, 2014 | Li Manchang | 李满长 | | Li Keqiang | Tomislav Nikolić | 2023 |
| October 2, 2023 | Li Ming | 李明 | From 2020 to September 2023 he was ambassador to the Solomon Islands. | Xi Jinping | Aleksandar Vučić | |