""We were mistreated": The confession of a former Chinese factory worker in Serbia", Russia Telegraph 21 December 2025

“What we experienced in Serbia was forced labor,” he says. “We were controlled, exploited, and treated without dignity.”

During 2024, he worked on the construction of the Chinese Linglong factory in northern Serbia.

"We were controlled, exploited and treated without dignity," says Buks.

Neither the Linglong company nor institutions in Serbia have responded to REL's questions regarding the US claims and decision.

"We were under constant pressure, under threats, and there were even physical fights. We were forced to endure mistreatment," Buks said in a written response to REL.

Tara Rukeci, an activist with the Zrenjanin Local Social Forum, who has offered assistance to foreign workers in Linglong, tells REL that a large number of foreign workers still work at the factory, but that their exact number is unknown.

"In Linglong, from the beginning, from the construction of the factory and now even in production, Chinese workers have been working in worse conditions than workers from Serbia," says Rukeci.

She adds that workers from Asia continue to be hired to work in the factory, but not directly by the Linglong company, but through subcontractors.

"Earlier we had large agencies like 'China Energy', which brought in hundreds of workers. Now a large number of small agencies have started to flourish," she emphasizes.