Miroslav and his wife had been trying for a baby. After HBIS took over the plant, he felt much more relaxed. He found out in August 2016 that his wife was pregnant. They became proud parents of a little daughter a few months later.

"I think she is a gift from God; but also, her birth has something to do with the coming of HBIS to Serbia," he said.

With a strong foothold in Serbia now, HBIS is looking to increase sales in the Balkans. It has accelerated the process of going global since 2013, riding the opportunities presented by the Belt and Road Initiative.

By the end of last year, it had invested $1.1 billion offshore and operated overseas assets worth $7 billion.

With 13,000 offshore employees and a global network spanning 110 countries, HBIS overseas businesses' operating revenue exceeded 80 billion yuan last year, with net profit surpassing 2 billion yuan.

Many developing countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative have not yet established their own industrial infrastructure. Their iron and steel industry is at a nascent stage, providing a broad market for Chinese steelmakers to export their quality production capacity to these countries, HBIS executives said.

"The Belt and Road Initiative has been a catalyst for our go-global strategy. It brought our long and rich iron and steel industry experience to the economies participating in the initiative," Song said.

The steelmaker has set a target of $20 billion or more in overseas annual sales revenue from 2020 onward, which would account for 30 percent of the total.