Chinese prime minister arrives in Belgrade

Chinese prime minister arrives in Belgrade

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic welcomed his Chinese counterpart at Belgrade's Nikola Tesla Airport, where they had a short meeting.

Li Keqiang said the upcoming summit would strengthen the ties between China and Serbia, and enrich Sino-European relations.

The Chinese head of government told his Serbian counterpart that he was very pleased to meet him again only four months after the latter's visit to China, and thanked the Serbian government for the hospitality and the organization of the event.

Vucic said that he was convinced the summit will not only prove the friendship between the two countries, but will also open new roads for cooperation and show that "politics, economy, and friendship can go hand in hand, and that we can contribute to the progress of our countries."

"Feel at home, welcome to Belgrade, welcome to Serbia," Vucic told Li Keqiang.

He noted that Serbia invested a lot of effort and energy to organize the summit and that he was convinced the Chinese guests would be satisfied.

The Chinese premier will on Tuesday take part in the summit, and on Wednesday hold bilateral meetings with top Serbian officials, including President Tomislav Nikolic. He will also officially open the new bridge over the Danube River in Belgrade that was financed by Chinese companies.

The 3rd Meeting of Heads of Government of China and 16 Central and Eastern European Countries will be held December 16-17 in Belgrade under the motto "New engine, new power, new platform," and it will include 1,350 participants, including side events.

1,100 reporters from 110 media outlets will be covering the Chinese prime minister's visit and the summit.

Besides the Serbian and Chinese prime ministers, the gathering will bring together prime ministers of 14 countries of Central and Eastern Europe, while Croatia will be represented by a deputy prime minister.

The 4th Economic Forum will be held in the Sava Center conference hall on Tuesday. That large meeting between prime ministers and the business community will be opened by the prime ministers Serbia and China and Prime Minister of Poland Ewa Kopacz, who will announce the creation of a joint economic committee of China and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe in Warsaw.

Many Chinese companies will present themselves at Sava Center, and there will also be 3 panel discussions with a large number of participants.

The official opening of the summit is scheduled for 17:00 CET tomorrow, with Vucic and Li Keqiang giving the opening speeches. They will address the media afterwards. There will be a reception and a formal dinner for all the participants later.

A meeting between the prime ministers of China, Serbia, Hungary and Macedonia will be held on December 17 to discuss the construction of a railway between Budapest and Belgrade. The media will be informed about the results after the meeting.

Wednesday afternoon is planned for Li Keqiang's meetings that are part of his visit to Serbia, and he will first talk with Vucic.

The two officials should sign a number of cooperation agreements and then address reporters.

The Chinese prime minister will receive the title of an honorary citizen of Belgrade from Mayor Sinisa Mali at the end of his visit.