Xi: Serbia maintains sincere friendship with Chinese people

BEIJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic's attendance at the Third Belt and Road Forum and PM Ana Brnabic's attendance at the Sixth China International Import Expo demonstrated Serbia's "sincere friendship with the Chinese people and firm belief in developing relations with China."

China and Serbia are "iron friends" who have stood together through thick and thin, Xi said, underscoring the profound historical foundation, solid public support, extensive common interests and strong impetus for cooperation of their bilateral relations, China's Xinhua news agency reported.

He said that, in recent years, China-Serbia relations had continued to operate at a high level, that the connotation of the comprehensive strategic partnership had been increasingly enriched and that practical cooperation had yielded fruitful results.

"Under the new circumstances, China is willing to work with Serbia to promote the high-quality development of bilateral relations and bring more benefits to the two peoples," Xi was quoted as saying.

He called on the two sides to make joint efforts to build and operate major cooperation projects, promote the early entry into force of the China-Serbia free trade agreement, strengthen cooperation in science and technology innovation, deepen cooperation in education, sports and tourism, expand personnel exchanges, and inherit and carry forward China-Serbia friendship, the Xinhua report said.

"China supports Serbia in pursuing an independent development path, and stands ready to strengthen multilateral coordination with Serbia and jointly safeguard international fairness and justice," Xi stressed.