Foreign relations of China

China pledged on Friday to increase trade with Central European countries and provide more financial support for major cross border infrastructure projects to promote regional cooperation.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Friday welcomed Greece as the 17th European member of the Cooperation of Central and Eastern European countries and China, known as the 16+1 initiative, at the opening of the fifth CEEC-China Summit, in Dubrovnik.

Coal-powered plants, mobile networks, major bridges, roads and railways: Chinese investments have been booming throughout Central and Eastern Europe's cash-strapped developing countries, even as European Union officials scramble to counter Beijing's mounting economic and political influence on the continent.

To encourage Chinese language learning and cultural exchanges with Bulgaria, the first Chinese singing contest was held in the country on Sunday, reports CGTN. 

As many as 17 solo performers and six groups from across Bulgaria participated in the event, which was organized by the Confucius Institute in Sofia.

The agreement should be signed in the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative during the upcoming visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) can benefit all countries, all peoples, and Piraeus port project in Greece is a good example, two Chinese experts told Xinhua on the sidelines of the fourth annual Delphi Economic Forum that concluded on Sunday.

The Chinese leader "expressed readiness to work with him on further improvement of the strategic partnership between the two countries," Tanjug reported, quoting the president's press office.

Greek businessmen and Chinese scholars voiced confidence in the prospects of Sino-Greek cooperation in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative during a forum held on Monday at Piraeus port, Greece's largest harbor which in recent years has become a strong symbol of win-win bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

Li was addressing a panel entitled, "The place and role of China in a global orde, with a special focus on the Balkans and Serbia" late on Wednesday when he made the comment.

These relations have enabled Serbia to be an important point on the New Silk Road route, Serbian Foreign Minister and First Deputy PM Ivica Dacic said on Monday, Tanjug reported on Monday.