Chinese and Serbian flags decorate streets of Belgrade in honor of the arrival of President Xi

Foto: Tanjug/Jadranka Ilić

In honor of the visit of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who is arriving here today for a two-day visit, the flags of China and Serbia are flying on the streets of the Serbian capital Belgrade.

Recommended

Billboards also display messages in Serbian and Chinese: "Welcome, respected Chinese friends," while flags of the two countries are decorating the highway leading from the airport to the central parts of the city.

A large red flag with five golden stars - the Chinese flag - today drapes the Western Gate of Belgrade - the Genex Tower, with a message of welcome for the leader of a country with which Serbia has strong economic but also political ties.

Photo: Tanjug/Jadranka Ilic

Over time, those ties have turned into a "steely friendship" - an unavoidable assessment during every visit or speech about relations between Belgrade and Beijing.

The Chinese president is visiting Serbia today at the invitation of his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic.

This is President Xi's first visit to Europe in the last five years, since the outbreak of the Covid pandemic, and during this European tour he is visiting only three European capitals - Paris, Belgrade, and Budapest.

(Telegraf.rs/Tanjug)