PM, Chinese official discuss upcoming summit

PM, Chinese official discuss upcoming summit

BELGRADE -- Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić met on Friday in Belgrade with Vice Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China Wang Chao.

They discussed preparations for the summit of 16 leaders of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), which will be co-hosted by China and Serbia in Belgrade in December.

Vučić said that he "personally invited over the phone the prime ministers of 15 CEE countries" to the Belgrade summit, and almost all of them have confirmed their attendance at the event, where China will be presented by Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang, the Serbian government's press office released in a statement.

The Chinese prime minister will hold bilateral meetings with Serbian officials ahead of the summit, the statement says.

This will be the first visit by a Chinese prime minister to Serbia after 28 years, and it will be dedicated to fostering the ties between the two countries, which have developed traditional friendship and strategic partnership.

On the occasion, an official ceremony will mark the opening of the Zemun-Borča bridge, which has been built by a Chinese company, the statement reads.

Vučić expects that, during Prime Minister Li's visit, the talks will continue and that an agreement will be signed on the construction of the Belgrade-Budapest high-speed rail line, which will place the Serbian capital at the hub of the European transport map, adding that the officials will also address other infrastructure projects.

The Serbian prime minister said that Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang will be declared an honorary citizen of Belgrade and underscored Serbia's support for the One-China policy.

...