China and Serbia to hold first joint military training in Hebei

China and Serbia will hold their first-ever joint military exercise later this month in northern China’s Hebei province to boost combat readiness and deepen defence cooperation, the Chinese Defence Ministry announced Monday.

The "Peace Guardian 2025" drill will take place in China’s northern Hebei province later in July and will involve special operations troops from both countries.

“This will be the first joint training between the Chinese and Serbian militaries. It will help strengthen the combat capabilities of participating troops and deepen cooperation between the two militaries,” said ministry spokesman Col. Jiang Bin during a briefing in Beijing.

China and Serbia have expanded political, economic, and defence ties in recent years. In 2024, China was Serbia’s second-largest trading partner, behind the European Union.

Highlighting the depth of the bilateral relationship, Chinese President Xi Jinping previously wrote in a Serbian newspaper that the two nations' friendship “is soaked in blood that the two peoples spilled together,” calling it a bond built on shared sacrifice and cooperation.

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