BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday that Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming state visit is not only a major diplomatic event for Serbia, but also a major event that is worthy of the joy of all Serbian people.

While expressing his belief that Xi's visit will bring new hope to Serbia's development, the president said: "I am very much looking forward to President Xi's visit."

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Vucic made the remarks when meeting with the visiting President of Xinhua News Agency Fu Hua in Belgrade.

Vucic said Serbia will never forget the assistance from the Chinese people, adding that he believes Xi will feel the warmth and friendliness of the Serbian people

Noting that China is Serbia's "iron-clad friend" and the exchanges between the two countries are fully candid and open, Vucic said Serbia will never forget the assistance from the Chinese people, adding that he believes Xi will feel the warmth and friendliness of the Serbian people during his visit.

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The Serbian president spoke highly of the contributions made by the HBIS Serbia steelworks in Smederevo to Serbia's economic development, China's assistance to Serbia in the fields of medicine and healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic and China's support for Serbia on international multilateral occasions.

Serbia firmly supports China's position on safeguarding its core interests and major concerns, Vucic stressed.

On the Taiwan question, Vucic said Serbia firmly upholds the one-China principle and supports China in safeguarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

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Regarding media exchanges, Vucic highly valued the cooperation between Xinhua News Agency and Serbia's Tanjug News Agency and other media outlets, saying that such exchanges enable the Serbian media to learn from the experience of their Chinese counterparts and allow the Serbian people to better understand China, so as to promote mutual learning and experience sharing between the two countries.

Fu said that under the strategic guidance of President Xi and President Vucic, China-Serbia relations have witnessed vigorous development despite changes in the international landscape, setting a good example of friendly relations between China and European countries.

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He also said he expects the meeting between the two heads of state to draw a new blueprint for China-Serbia exchanges and cooperation and to add new luster to the "iron-clad friendship" between the two countries in the new era.

Moreover, Fu said Xinhua stands ready to work with its Serbian counterparts to further deepen exchanges and cooperation, tell well the stories of China-Serbia friendship and comprehensively showcase the bright prospects of bilateral relations in the new era through high-quality and multidimensional news reports and think tank research.

Xinhua will also firmly act as an envoy of China-Serbia friendship and create a positive public opinion atmosphere for deepening bilateral cooperation in various fields to better benefit the peoples of the two countries, Fu added.