China’s President Xi arrives in Serbia

BELGRADE, Serbia – Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Serbia on Friday for a visit meant to boost relations with the friendly nation and assert China’s intention to increase its presence in the Balkans and Europe.

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and government officials welcomed Xi as he landed at Belgrade’s airport. A Serbian folk group performed traditional dances as part of the welcoming ceremony.

Later Friday, Xi is expected to visit the site of the former Chinese embassy which was bombed accidently during NATO’s 1999 air war against Serbia over Kosovo.

During his three-day stay, Xi also will hold meetings with top officials and visit a Serbian steel plant purchased by a Chinese company. Serbian leaders have described the visit — the first in more than 30 years — as historic.

China has been seeking opportunities to deepen ties to the region. Several meetings of southeast European countries and China have been held in the past years and accompanied by investment projects, mostly in energy and infrastructure. The Asian economic power has also sought to improve co-operation with the European Union.

From Serbia, Xi will travel to EU-member Poland where he will ink deals on finance, aviation, science and education. Poland has sought to develop trade and business ties with China, where it sees a large market and a counterweight to strictly regulated business ties within the EU.

Xi will wrap up the tour in Uzbekistan, where he will attend a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit focusing on fighting terrorism and crime.