Chinese President arrives in Belgrade for state visit to Serbia

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Belgrade on Tuesday evening on a state visit as part of his first European tour since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chinese state television said Xi "arrived in Belgrade on a private plane on the evening of May 7th in a state visit."

A photographer from Agence France-Presse in Belgrade witnessed the Chinese president's plane landing at the capital's airport.

This is the Chinese president's first European tour since the COVID-19 pandemic, from which China isolated itself from the world almost completely for about three years.

Xi arrived in Belgrade from France, where he held talks with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, which were sometimes marked by sharp discussions on several issues, including the war in Ukraine.

Xi's visit to Belgrade coincides with the 25th anniversary of the accidental NATO bombing of the Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia in 1999.

From Serbia, Xi will move on to Hungary, the final stop on this European tour.

AFP