"Fertile Air And Clean Air at Risk: Chinese Mining Alarms Villagers in Serbia And Tajikistan", 8 June 2025

Living next to the Chinese-owned Zijin mines, villagers near Bor in eastern Serbia and Panjakent in western Tajikistan face the same threat: poisoned air, degraded farmland, and no recourse. At the same time their governments deepen ties with Beijing.

As both countries embrace Chinese investment under Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative, villagers say they're paying the environmental price, allegations Zijin denies...

Zijin operates a copper mine in Serbia and a gold mine in Tajikistan. Both sites have drawn repeated complaints from nearby residents, who say promised relocations and cleanups never materialized...

Zijin acquired Serbia's former state-run mining basin in 2018 and launched operations at the new and fully Chinese Cukaru Peki mine in 2021. Since then, residents and experts have warned of worsening pollution. The company says it has spent $259 million on environmental improvements, including reducing sulfur dioxide. But toxic particles remain...

Despite public outcry, the Serbian government has defended Zijin. By 2024, Chinese firms became Serbia's top exporters, earning over $1 billion...

Zijin says 98 percent of land in the area was acquired voluntarily, and remaining expropriations followed legal procedures. It insists it is developing Serbia's first "green mine" in compliance with environmental laws...

Those who speak out risk retaliation. In 2023, a group of women who traveled to Panjakent to protest were detained...