BEIJING, May 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — CGTN published an article on Chinese President Xi Jinping’s meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Beijing. Highlighting the ironclad friendship between the two countries, the article focused on their mutually beneficial cooperation and upholding of fairness and justice, and stressed efforts to elevate the China-Serbia comprehensive strategic partnership to new heights.

Hailed as the pride of Serbia, the century-old Smederevo Steelworks stands as a shining symbol of mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Serbia.

Once mired in severe operational difficulties and on the brink of bankruptcy, the plant made a remarkable comeback in 2016 when its Chinese partner arrived, thanks to the deepening of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation between the two countries. Today, it has become one of the world’s largest iron and steel makers and integrated service providers measured by production capacity.

During a state visit to Serbia in 2024, Chinese President Xi Jinping gave Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic replica steel models as gifts. The models, in the shape of China’s Temple of Heaven and Serbia’s Church of Saint Sava, were made of steel produced by the plant, signifying the stronger ties between the two countries.

On Monday, the two leaders held talks in Beijing. Xi called on the two countries to jointly forge a bright path toward a shared future and common prosperity and elevate the China-Serbia comprehensive strategic partnership to new heights.

Ironclad friendship

From the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games to the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation to commemorative activities marking the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, Vucic has attended multiple major events in China. The term “ironclad friendship” has become a hallmark of bilateral meetings and phone calls between the two leaders.

Guided by the strategic guidance of the two leaders, China-Serbia relations have maintained high-standard development in recent years. In 2025, bilateral trade reached $6.49 billion, marking a 13% year-on-year increase, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Serbia was among the earliest European countries to partner with China in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). In recent years, China and Serbia, under the BRI, have accelerated the development of a series of projects such as the Budapest-Belgrade railway and the Fruska Gora Corridor linking Novi Sad and Ruma.

In October 2025, the Chinese-built Serbian section of the Budapest-Belgrade railway was fully inaugurated. Vucic marked the occasion by taking a ride on the newly opened railway, hailing it as a generational achievement that “will forever be written into the history books.”

With the China-Serbia Free Trade Agreement taking effect on July 1, 2024, Serbian specialty products, such as wine, honey, beef and mutton, are increasingly entering the Chinese market. Meanwhile, projects constructed with the participation of Chinese companies, such as the Belgrade bypass and the Gornji Milanovac bypass, have been completed, serving as key infrastructure projects supporting Serbia’s national development.

The ironclad friendship between China and Serbia is unique and has a profound historical logic and practical foundation, Xi told Vucic, urging both sides to continue to strengthen youth and cultural exchanges and leverage visa exemption policies, the free trade agreement, and direct flights to expand all-round cooperation in multiple areas to inherit and carry forward the traditional friendship.

On Monday, Xi also awarded Vucic the Friendship Medal of the People’s Republic of China. Describing the occasion as “one of the most important moments of my life,” Vucic reaffirmed his commitment to promoting the bilateral friendship between Serbia and China and advancing the building of a Serbia-China community with a shared future.

Shared future

Built on shared historical trials and lofty aspirations, China and Serbia both cherish perseverance and resilience, uphold national independence and dignity, and share a profound understanding of the importance of upholding peaceful development, fairness and justice, Xi noted during Monday’s meeting.

In May 2024, Serbia became the first European country to agree with China on building a community with a shared future for the new era. Since then, the bilateral partnership has expanded beyond infrastructure into technology, green energy, and artificial intelligence, securing a promising start toward building a China-Serbia community with a shared future.

After Monday’s meeting between Xi and Vucic, the two countries issued a joint statement advancing the four global initiatives proposed by China: the Global Development Initiative (GDI), the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative, and the Global Governance Initiative (GGI).

Highlighting that the four global initiatives have contributed Chinese wisdom and strength to solving global development problems, addressing global security challenges, promoting exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, and improving global governance, Serbia has decided to participate in the Group of Friends of the GDI and the Group of Friends of the GGI, demonstrating its willingness to deepen cooperation with China on international governance and global development.

Xi called on China and Serbia to continue to strengthen coordination and cooperation in international affairs, practice true multilateralism, and make unremitting efforts to promote an equal and orderly multipolar world, universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, and the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.

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https://news.cgtn.com/news/2026-05-26/China-Serbia-push-comprehensive-strategic-partnership-to-new-heights-1NreUhbzaeY/p.html

SOURCE CGTN

BEIJING, May 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — In an era marked by ecological challenges, development dilemmas and geopolitical dynamics are increasingly intertwined. Through a series of innovative practices, Chinese modernization offers a “green solution” to some of humanity’s pressing questions of survival and development. Rooted in the wisdom of Chinese civilization and refined through Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, this approach presents both a philosophical vision and a practical pathway toward sustainable development.

In this context, the Global Times (GT) launches the “China through a ‘green’ lens” series. It invites leading scholars and observers worldwide to decode the underlying logic behind China’s green development and to better understand the global implications of China’s green development philosophy.

Josef Gregory Mahoney (Mahoney), a professor of politics and international relations and director of the Center for Ecological Civilization at East China Normal University in Shanghai, told GT reporter Li Aixin that China’s efforts on ecodevelopment “injects predictability into global environmental governance.” This is the first installment of the series.

GT: Chinese lawmakers voted to adopt the Ecological and Environmental Code at the closing meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People’s Congress. It is guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization. How do you interpret the significance of this code?

Mahoney: The new Ecological and Environmental Code signifies a breakthrough as China moves to consolidate its green revolution. This revolution accelerated in the new era under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, with China becoming the global leader in green innovation, green development and green transformations, while also scoring major victories ensuring dramatically cleaner air, water and land around the country.

This is not merely a compilation of laws but a groundbreaking restructuring of the legal system. It demonstrates China’s green revolution has moved from the fragmented, single-dimensional policy-driven phase of the past into a new stage underpinned by a systematic and binding rule-of-law framework.

No less importantly, amid the growing uncertainties in the current international landscape, the code injects predictability into global environmental governance. It provides an invaluable reference for developing countries seeking to balance economic development with environmental protection. It also explicitly encourages international cooperation in green and low-carbon technologies and products, helping Chinese industries enhance their voice in the global value chain.

GT: “Man and nature form a community of life” serves as the important point of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization. How do you understand the philosophical essence of this concept?

Mahoney: Since President Xi illustrated with the “two-integrations” concept, Chinese wisdom has always been present in China’s creative practice of Marxism, and Chinese Marxism has often returned to Chinese wisdom to address new challenges. For example, yinyang thought and the privileging of “and” over “or” was always the distinctive feature of Chinese Marxist understanding of the “unity of opposites.”

GT: Reflecting on the environmental conditions you first observed in China and today’s achievements in ecological civilization, what do you think are the most representative changes you’ve noticed?

Mahoney: In 1998, when I first came to China, I lived in Shenyang for a year. Ecologically and economically, that was a hard time in that city. While the old factories had reached their life cycles and were shutting down, others were still pumping out pollution. Furthermore, people still depended on coal to keep their homes warm, and some of the very poor were burning old tires. Upper-respiratory problems were the norm.

However, Shenyang recorded 328 excellent air days in 2025, while good water quality reached 73.3 percent. The city uses AI and drones for 24/7 ecological monitoring and has established a comprehensive “zero-waste city” program. Meanwhile, total emissions due to coal burning in districts like Huanggu have dropped by approximately 30 percent over the past five years.

GT: “Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets” has become the guiding principle for China’s ecological civilization construction. This principle elucidates the relationship between economic development and ecological protection. Based on your observations, what specific and compelling practices has China adopted to strike a balance between ecological conservation and economic growth?

Mahoney: In addition to substantial systemic improvements, which include formally coupling the new Ecological and Environmental Code with the green development focus of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), we’ve seen many major efforts to ensure a healthy balance between ecological conservation and economic growth.

In technology innovation, China is well known for being the world leader in green technologies associated with EVs as well as renewable energy production. China is also leading the way with innovations related to precision pollution controls. For example, Zhejiang’s “Blue Cycle” program uses IoT and blockchain to manage marine plastic waste with digital traceability.

GT: Chinese modernization prioritizes “man and nature forming a community of life,” defining itself as “a modernization characterized by harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature.” What global significance does this contrast hold?

Mahoney: China constructs at home and abroad consistent with green development. Chinese modernization is based on a very different worldview and seeks a very different outcome.

China seeks a win-win, principles-based multilateralism consistent with creating a shared future for humanity.

China realizes that real security and development is a shared human project.

I believe China’s commitment to a multipolar world, its efforts to reinforce and improve multilateralism, its commitment to green innovation and development, can altogether be understood as advancing, step-by-step, as a new internationalism. Furthermore, it can reach a point where it can save the world and hundreds of millions of its peoples from the dark consequences of climate change, injustices and insecurity associated with chronic underdevelopment and brown paradigms.

The article first appeared in the Global Times

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SOURCE Global Times

Enterprise-grade expense-to-payroll automation now accessible without the enterprise headcount or price tag.

LONDON, May 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Playroll, the global employment platform, has partnered with Expensify to solve a problem most scaling SMBs avoid discussing: how to reimburse employees globally without audit risk or hiring compliance staff.

Until now, companies had two options: build an in-house compliance function (six figures, unrealistic for SMBs) or buy enterprise software (annual contracts and long implementations). Neither worked.

The new integration changes that. Expenses flow from Expensify into Playroll’s payroll engine, where 120+ in-house legal and tax experts have embedded compliance for 180+ countries. Each reimbursement is classified against local tax rules, converted to local currency, flagged for non-compliance, and delivered audit-ready in the next payroll run. One workflow, with no manual validation or re-entry needed.

“Growing internationally gets complicated when expenses, payroll, and local tax rules collide. We wanted to make that complexity invisible for smaller teams, not something they need to hire specialists for,” said Erez Golan, Managing Director at Playroll.

SMBs now get the same compliance infrastructure used by enterprises, at a fraction of the cost, without annual lock-ins.

Key benefits: Expense-to-payroll in one system with no data re-entry. Automatic local tax, benefits, and reporting rules applied at submission. Real-time audit trail. Local currency processing. Scales without hiring headcount.

“Integrating with Playroll is part of a bigger shift at Expensify,” said Nick Tooker, Head of Partnerships at Expensify. “We’re not just making expense management easier. We’re building the infrastructure that lets SMBs compete globally without the overhead that used to be reserved for enterprises. Playroll’s compliance engine is what makes that possible at scale for SMBs.”

Playroll and Expensify are strategic go-to-market partners for EMEA and UK markets. The partnership includes integrated customer onboarding, mutual customer referrals, and co-developed training programs for finance and operations teams.

About Playroll Playroll helps businesses compliantly employ, onboard, and pay international teams through EOR, global payroll, contractor management, and entity setup across 180+ countries. Gold winner, Global HR Solution Provider of the Year – 2025 Stevie® Awards. www.playroll.com

About Expensify Expensify is the easiest way to do your expenses, travel, and corporate cards. Trusted by 15 million members worldwide and top-rated on G2, TrustRadius, and Capterra. Learn more at use.expensify.com

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/playroll-and-expensify-close-the-compliance-gap-for-scaling-smbs-302779348.html