Serbia displayed a recently delivered Chinese anti-aircraft missile system. Although Serbia officially seeks membership of the European Union it has been arming itself mostly with Russian and Chinese weapons. Back in 2020, U.S. officials warned Belgrade against the purchase of Chinese missile systems. They said, if Serbia really wants to join the EU and other Western alliances, it must align its military equipment with Western standards.
Serbia is the first operator of Chinese missiles in Europe. During the event President Aleksandar Vučić stated that Serbia preserves peace and stability and it will continue to do so, but Serbia will no longer allow herself to be a punching bag, as this could unfortunately have been the case until a few years ago.
The Chinese missile system has been widely compared to the American Patriot and the Russian S-300 surface-to-air missile systems although it has a shorter range than more advanced S-300s.