President Xi’s state visit, which will run for three days, was upon the invitation of Sauli Niinisto, the president of Finland. (Photo : Getty Images)
Chinese President Xi Jinping has recently met with Serbian counterpart, Tomislav Nikolic, and vowed to deepen the China-Serbia cooperation, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.
The meeting between the two leaders aimed at enhancing the countries' partnership in terms of the Belt and Road Initiative and the "16+1" initiative, which refers to the cooperation mechanism between China and the 16 Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC).
Serbia serves as the first country to enter into a China-CEEC partnership.
According to Xi, the Chinese government is willing to "work with Serbia to deepen the all-weather friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation," Xinhua wrote.
The Chinese leader also urged both countries to sustain high-profile exchanges, including exchanges that involve governments, political parties and legislatures.
Xi also expressed hope to foster his Belt and Road initiative's alignment with Serbia's adamant efforts to introduce reindustrialization. He particularly delved into advancing huge, collaborative endeavors such as the Serbia-Hungary railway.
Apart from the infrastructure sector, the Chinese president further called for a more solidified partnership when it comes to renewable energy, agriculture, biomedicine as well as tourism.
Meanwhile, Nikolic noted that Serbian people laud the developments China has achieved throughout the years. He is optimistic that the Asian country will play a bigger role in both global and regional affairs in the future.
The Serbian leader also voiced out his appreciation of China's mutual respect in fostering its ties with other nations. He also seconded Xi's invitation to enhancing the China-Serbia cooperation, particularly in the sectors of infrastructure, mining, production capacity and agriculture.
Nikolic added that his country will actively involve itself in Xi's Belt and Road initiative and participate in projects that will boost the China-CEEC partnership.
After the meeting, a ceremony was held to award Nikolic the title of "honorary citizen of Beijing. He visited China last March 28 until April 1 upon Xi's invitation.
