Serbia is China's first comprehensive strategic partner in CEE - Chinese MFA

BEIJING - Serbia is China's first comprehensive strategic partner in Central and Eastern Europe and the two countries maintain an iron-clad friendship, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Serbia on May 7-8.

"In recent years, under the strategic guidance of President Xi and President (Aleksandar) Vucic, China-Serbia relations have maintained a high level of performance," China's Xinhua news agency quoted Lin as saying on Monday.

He said the two sides had "supported each other's core interests and major concerns firmly, shared solid political mutual trust, achieved fruitful outcomes in high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and maintained close coordination in multilateral fields."

Lin said Xi would hold talks with Vucic to "exchange in-depth views on China-Serbia relations, and international and regional issues of common concern" and that the two sides would "hold discussions on elevating the positioning of bilateral ties and charting the course for future development."

Lin said the visit would be Xi's second trip to Serbia in eight years, representing a "milestone to upgrade and improve bilateral relations."

"Taking this visit as an opportunity, China looks forward to working with Serbia to consolidate the iron-clad friendship between the two countries, deepen political mutual trust, and expand practical cooperation, to open a new chapter in the history of China-Serbia relations and contribute more to building a community with a shared future for humanity," he also said.

Between May 5 and 10, Xi will also visit France and Hungary.