VIDEO Xi Jinping landed in Belgrade, escorted by fighter jets, 25 years after the NATO bombing of the Chinese embassy

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Serbia on Tuesday evening, escorted by MIG-29 jets, in a highly secured visit that coincides with the 25th anniversary of the NATO bombing of the Chinese embassy, ​​in which three Chinese journalists were killed, reports Reuters.

Belgrade, after France, is the second stop on Xi’s first visit to Europe in five years, with the diplomatic tour also including Hungary.

In Serbia, which is seen as China’s most important partner in the Balkans, Xi is expected to discuss Beijing’s multibillion-dollar investments in the country and possible new deals.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and several government officials welcomed Xi at Belgrade airport, where he was also met by a military honor guard and dancers in folk costumes. The two leaders will have a meeting on Wednesday.

On May 7, 1999, 20 Chinese nationals were injured in the NATO attack, which prompted outrage in China and an official apology from then-US President Bill Clinton.

The embassy was struck during a campaign against then-Yugoslavia aimed at forcing Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic to end a crackdown on ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.

“The Chinese people value peace, but they will never allow a historical tragedy to repeat itself,” Xi said in an opinion piece published Tuesday in the Serbian daily Politika.

“The friendship between China and Serbia, which is steeped in the blood that the two peoples have shed together, has become a common memory of the two peoples and will encourage both sides to take giant steps forward together,” Xi added.

The streets of Belgrade were decorated with Chinese flags and placards as thousands of police were deployed to provide security for Xi and his 400-strong entourage, the highest-level visit by a foreign leader in years .

Xi and Vucic insist on the “iron partnership” between the two countries

Xi is making this official official visit to Serbia after going to France, where President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen pressed him to ensure more balanced trade with Europe and use his influence with Russia to put end of the war in Ukraine.

During his first visit to Belgrade in 2016, the two countries signed a strategic partnership. Last year, Vucic signed 18 agreements with Xi in Beijing, including a free trade agreement that should become operational in July.

Both leaders insist on an iron partnership between their countries. Along with Hungary, which is Xi’s next stop, Serbia is the staunchest European supporter of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

China runs a number of mines and factories on Serbian territory and has lent billions for roads, bridges and new facilities, becoming Serbia’s key partner in developing much-needed infrastructure.

Observers say Xi’s decision to come to Serbia and Hungary is meant to bring the two European countries that are pro-Kremlin and big beneficiaries of Chinese investment closer together. Serbia’s Western partners see the country as a Chinese hub at the gateway to the EU.

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