BEIJING -- At the invitation of President Emmanuel Macron of the Republic of France, President Aleksandar Vučić of the Republic of Serbia, and President Tamás Sulyok and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary, Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay state visits to France, Serbia and Hungary from May 5 to 10, foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced on Monday.

This is the first visit to Europe by China's head of state in nearly five years, which is of great significance to the overall development of China's relations with France, Serbia, Hungary and Europe, and will inject new impetus into world peace and development, another foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regular press briefing on Monday.

Noting that France was the first major Western country to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China at the ambassadorial level, Lin said China-France relations have long been at the forefront of the relations between China and the West.

In recent years, under the strategic guidance of President Xi and President Macron, China-France relations have maintained a sound development momentum, with fruitful strategic communication, practical cooperation, deeper people-to-people exchanges and sound communication and coordination in international and regional affairs, Lin said.

During the visit, Xi will hold talks with Macron and exchange in-depth views on China-France and China-Europe relations as well as international and regional hotspot issues of common concern. The two heads of state will also travel to another place to hold activities.

Xi's visit marks the second state visit by China's head of state to France in five years. It coincides with the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and France and is of great significance to building on past achievements and opening up new prospects for bilateral relations, Lin noted.

China looks forward to working with France to take this visit as an opportunity to further consolidate political mutual trust, strengthen solidarity and cooperation, take the China-France comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level, inject new impetus into the sound and steady development of China-Europe relations, and make new contributions to world peace, stability, development and progress, Lin said.

Serbia is China's first comprehensive strategic partner in Central and Eastern Europe, and the two countries enjoy iron-clad friendship, Lin said.

He said that in recent years, under the strategic guidance of President Xi and President Vučić, China-Serbia relations have maintained a high level of performance. He said that the two sides have supported each other's core interests and major concerns firmly, shared solid political mutual trust, achieved fruitful outcomes in high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and maintained close coordination in multilateral fields.

Lin said that during the visit, Xi will hold talks with Vučić to exchange in-depth views on China-Serbia relations, and international and regional issues of common concern. The two sides will hold discussions on elevating the positioning of bilateral ties and charting the course for future development.

This is Xi's second visit to Serbia in eight years, which is a milestone to upgrade and improve bilateral relations, said Lin, adding that taking this visit as an opportunity, China looks forward to working with Serbia to consolidate the iron-clad friendship between the two countries, deepen political mutual trust, and expand practical cooperation, to open a new chapter in the history of China-Serbia relations and contribute more to building a community with a shared future for humanity.

Hungary is an important country in Central and Eastern Europe, noted Lin, saying that the country is also an important partner for China in advancing joint Belt and Road cooperation and China-Central and Eastern European cooperation.

Lin said that in recent years, under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, China-Hungary relations have maintained high-level development, where exchanges at the top level are close, political mutual trust is continuously deepened, and fruitful results are yielded in cooperation in various fields, bringing tangible benefits to the two peoples.

China and Hungary are comprehensive strategic partners who are committed to their respective development in line with their national conditions, Lin said, noting that deepening traditional friendship and promoting mutually beneficial cooperation serve the common interests of both sides and are conducive to regional and global peace, stability, and prosperity.

The joint invitation extended by Hungarian President Sulyok and Prime Minister Orbán to President Xi to visit Hungary fully demonstrates Hungary's high regard and earnest expectations for this visit, Lin added.

Lin said that during the visit, Xi will meet and hold talks with Sulyok and Orbán respectively to have in-depth exchanges of views on China-Hungary relations and issues of common concern.

As this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Hungary, this milestone visit will elevate bilateral relations to a new level, open a new chapter for China-Hungary friendly cooperation, inject new impetus into the development of China-Europe relations, and bring more stability and positive energy to the turbulent world, Lin said.