Full coverage: Premier Li Visits Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Latvia and Russia

China is expected to formalize a deal with the CEE country, Serbia which will allow visa-free travel for citizens of both countries for up to 30 days.

Zhou Haiying expects good news for his business out of Latvia this weekend. A Chinese national, Zhou is Serbia’s largest private investor — he’s pumped $33 million into this shopping center in the capital Belgrade and believes a formal sign-off on a deal with China for 30 days of visa-free travel could mean more Chinese clients coming here to fill his lots.

"I believe this is very good news for people in both countries — especially for businessmen. As you know, internet communications are now very developed. But the function of meeting and visiting face-to-face is irreplaceable," he said.

An agreement to open direct flights from Beijing was also recently approved. That’s an exciting prospect for Serbia’s relatively low-key tourism industry.

"Tourists from China are very numerous and they are coming to Europe in huge numbers. But in Serbia, we still don’t have enough tourists from China," said Marija Lavovic, tourist organization of Serbia.

"And we believe we have a lot to offer to Chinese tourists. We believe this is a destination they’re about to discover — and when they discover it, it will help us greatly."

Cooperation doesn’t stop there — Serbia’s National Bank has granted a license to Bank of China to open a branch here, too.

The apparent hope: to increase investment to the whole region — and complement the European Union’s own development plans.

As Eastern and Central European leaders meet with China’s Premier Li Keqiang in the Latvian capital Riga — those investments are expected to be a focus.

At the moment Chinese investment in eastern and central Europe makes up just 10% or so of the total inflow for the continent. Western Europe still enjoys the lion’s share. That is changing — partly through summits like this. And visa-free travel — officials here hope — could help speed up that increase.