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Chinese President Xi Jinping is continuing his state visit to Serbia. In Belgrade, Xi, his Serbian counterpart Tomislav Nikolic and Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic Serbia witnessed the signing of more than 20 projects covering the economy, trade, industrial capacity and finance.

BELGRADE, June 18, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) and Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic attend a signing ceremony for a joint statement to lift bilateral relationship of China and Serbia to comprehensive strategic partnership after they held talks in Belgrade, Serbia, June 18, 2016. (Xinhua/Li Tao)

Earlier, the two presidents gave statements to the press. China and Serbia have agreed to lift their bilateral relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership. Serbia said that it is ready to deepen bilateral cooperation by playing an active role in China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

China and Serbia both said that South China Sea disputes should be settled by directly concerned parties through friendly consultations and negotiations. The two countries pledged to continue joint efforts to put the Hungary-Serbia railway into operation on schedule.