Full coverage: President Xi Visits 3 Nations, Attends SCO Summit

Full coverage: China’s Leaders

President Xi Jinping also paid homage to the Chinese journalists killed in the 1999 NATO bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade.

In the first public event of his visit, President Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan, alongside Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and other officials, paid silent tribute to those killed in the attack. Leaders of the two countries laid wreaths at a new cenotaph erected on the site where the building once stood. The three victims of the deadly bombing- who have been given the title of martyrs in China- were journalists Shao Yunhuan(邵雲環) of the Xinhua News Agency, and Xu Xinghu(許杏虎) and his wife Zhu Ying(朱穎), of the Guangming Daily newspaper.

At the event, the two presidents said China and Serbia will join hands in promoting development and peace. On May 7, 1999, US-led NATO forces carried out a missile attack on the Chinese embassy, which left the three journalists dead, and dozens of others injured.

BELGRADE, June 17, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan pay homage to the Chinese martyrs killed in the NATO bombing of the former Chinese embassy in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in May 1999, after arriving in Belgrade for a state visit to Serbia, June 17, 2016. The three martyrs were journalists Shao Yunhuan of Xinhua News Agency, and Xu Xinghu and his wife Zhu Ying, of the Guangming Daily newspaper. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)

BELGRADE, June 17, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan pay homage to the Chinese martyrs killed in the NATO bombing of the former Chinese embassy in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in May 1999, after arriving in Belgrade for a state visit to Serbia, June 17, 2016. The three martyrs were journalists Shao Yunhuan of Xinhua News Agency, and Xu Xinghu and his wife Zhu Ying, of the Guangming Daily newspaper. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)