Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 17, 2023. Aleksandar Vucic is in Beijing to attend the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING, Oct. 17 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday met with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who is in Beijing to attend the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

Calling Serbia "an ironclad friend" of China, Xi said the bilateral relations have withstood changes in the international landscape over recent years and are an exemplar of friendly relations between China and European countries.

Bilateral cooperation in areas such as infrastructure and production capacity has yielded fruitful results, and the depth, breadth, quality and efficiency of practical cooperation have been continuously improving, Xi said.

Facing profound changes in the world unseen in a century, the two sides should view the bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, and firmly support each other's core interests and major concerns, as well as each other's development paths, Xi noted.

Xi said China firmly supports Serbia in safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity and stands ready to continue to strengthen strategic synergy with Serbia in order to translate the traditional friendship between the two countries into more fruits of practical cooperation.

Xi called on the two sides to steadily advance cooperation in key areas such as infrastructure and actively explore new areas of cooperation including digital economy and technological innovation.

Serbia stands with China on all China-related issues and firmly follows the one-China policy, said Vucic, adding that Serbia is proud of its ironclad friendship with China.

Vucic said Serbia fully supports the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, and will continue to actively participate in the joint building of the Belt and Road and deepen friendly cooperation with China in various fields.

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 17, 2023. Aleksandar Vucic is in Beijing to attend the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. [Photo/Xinhua]