China to Invest $1.1 Billion in Serbia in AI, Robots and Cars

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced that Chinese companies will invest an additional €940 million ($1.1 billion) in Serbia starting in July 2026, with capital directed at auto parts production, humanoid robots, energy and artificial intelligence.

Why it matters

Serbia has been the bridgehead for Chinese industrial capital in Europe for a decade (Zijin's copper mines, HBIS's Smederevo steel mill, Linglong tires), and the new tranche extends the playbook into humanoids and AI infrastructure. The relevant detail for operators: Serbia sits inside the CEFTA free trade area and holds free trade agreements with the EU, EAEU and China, which makes it the cleanest jurisdiction in Europe to assemble Chinese-origin humanoid components and ship into the single market without triggering the same tariff scrutiny now hitting Chinese EVs.

Watch which OEMs land. If Unitree, Agibot or a Geely-affiliated humanoid program shows up alongside the auto-parts spend, this is the same supply chain reuse thesis (motors, batteries, reducers migrating from EV lines into humanoid lines) playing out on European soil rather than in Guangdong. €940 million does not build a humanoid industry on its own, but it buys the first factory and the labor pipeline, which is what every Western humanoid company is currently missing.

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