Xi Jinping arrives in Serbia after lunch with Macron
President Xi Jinping arrived in Belgrade on Tuesday evening, after French President Emmanuel Macron hosted a high altitude lunch at a childhood haunt in the Pyrenees mountains for the Chinese leader. On the next step in his European tour, Xi will hold talks with President Aleksandar Vucic in Serbia, where China has invested heavily to expand its economic footprint. Serbian state broadcaster RTS showed Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan descend from their Air China aeroplane to be greeted by Vucic, with a small crowd of welcomers waiting along a red carpet dressed in traditional clothing and holding flags and flowers. "China and Serbia enjoy profound traditional friendship. Our bilateral relationship has stood the test of changing international environment and become a fine example of state-to-state relations," Xi said in a written statement issued by Xinhua news agency upon his arrival. Xi said he looks forward to taking this visit as an opportunity to have in-depth exchange of views with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on bilateral relationship and other issues of mutual interest. "I am confident that this visit will be a fruitful one and will open up a new chapter in China-Serbia relations," he said.  In France, Macron pressed a message to Beijing not to support Russia's war against Ukraine and to accept fairer trade. But the other two countries chosen by Xi for his first trip to Europe since 2019 – Hungary is his final stop after Serbia – are seen as among the most sympathetic to Moscow in Europe. The first day of Xi's state visit to France saw respectful but sometimes robust exchanges between the two presidents during a succession of talks on Monday. Macron, joined initially by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, urged Xi not to allow the export of any technology that could be used by Russia in its war with Ukraine and asked Beijing to do all it could to end the conflict. Xi, for his part, warned the West not to "smear" China over the conflict and also hit back at accusations that Chinese overcapacity was causing global trade imbalances. China has poured billions into Serbia and neighbouring Balkan countries, and last year Beijing and Belgrade signed a free trade agreement. Serbian finance minister Sinisa Mali told the RTS broadcaster that talks on Wednesday would centre on "a great project." (Xinhua/AFP)