>>17947780 (OP)
>Milošević first visited China in the early 1980s while being head of Beobank. He visited China again in 1997, after an invitation by Chinese president Jiang Zemin. Milošević was often popularly known in China by the nickname "Lao Mi" (老米), a shortened form of the informal Chinese-style nickname "Old Milošević" (老米洛舍维奇); among the state-operated media in China, Milošević was often referred to as "Comrade Milošević" (米洛舍维奇同志). Many sources hold that the Chinese government asserted strong backing of Milošević throughout his presidency until his surrender, and was one of the few countries supportive of him and the Yugoslav government,[157] at a time when most Western countries were strongly critical of the Milošević government. The New York Times stated that the People's Republic of China was "one of Mr. Milošević's staunchest supporters" during the Kosovo conflict.[158] China vocally opposed NATO armed intervention in Kosovo throughout the campaign. Chinese parliamentary leader Li Peng was presented by Milošević with Yugoslavia's highest medal (the Great Star) in Belgrade in 2000.[158] Marko Milošević, the son of the deposed Milošević, was turned away by China on 9 October 2000. Marko Milošević may have attempted to travel to China because of the £100 million allegedly laundered into Chinese banks by the Milošević family.[159][160]
The New York Times observed that Milošević, and particularly his wife Marković, had "long viewed Beijing and its Communist party" as allies and "the sort of ideological comrades" lacking in Eastern Europe after the fall of Communism in the 1990s.[158] After Milošević's indictment, China's public statements shifted toward emphasizing Yugoslav-Chinese relations rather than focusing on its support for Milošević, while after the election of Vojislav Koštunica as Yugoslav president, Chinese foreign ministry officially stated that "China respects the choice of the Yugo
