The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has helped breathe new life into a century-old steel plant in Serbia, which was suffering long-term losses, management problems and an uncertain future. Smederevo Steel Plant, approximately 60 kilometers from the Serbian capital Belgrade, is the largest steel producer in Serbia. In April 2016, under the BRI, a Chinese firm introduced more than 20 new technologies and management systems and reused waste materials to produce steel of better quality. Less than half a year after the acquisition, the steel plant began to make a profit and became Serbia's largest exporter in 2018. In 2023, HBIS Smederevo Steel Plant received the Green Agenda award jointly conferred by the European Union and the United Nations Development Program.