President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, are welcomed on Tuesday by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (front, second from right) and his wife, Tamara Vucic (front, right), upon their arrival at Nikola Tesla Airport in Belgrade, capital of Serbia. WANG ZHUANGFEI / CHINA DAILY

President Xi Jinping arrived in Belgrade, capital of Serbia, on Tuesday night, starting a state visit to the central European country. Upon his arrival, the Chinese president said he is confident that this visit will be a fruitful one and open up a new chapter in China-Serbia relations.

"On behalf of the Chinese government and people, I would like to extend heartfelt greetings and best wishes to the friendly government and people of Serbia," Xi said in a written speech upon his arrival at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport.

The last time Xi was in Serbia was in 2016, when the two countries' heads of state upgraded bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership. Since then, the China-Serbia relationship has realized leapfrog development, and achieved historic results, Xi said in the speech.

Standing at a new historical starting point, he said that China will work with Serbia to jointly stay committed to the original aspiration and forge ahead together to open up a new vista in China-Serbia cooperation, with stronger momentum, greater scope and higher quality.

"I look forward to taking this visit as an opportunity to have in-depth exchange of views with President Aleksandar Vucic on bilateral ties and other issues of mutual interest, renew friendship, plan for cooperation, explore development, and draw up a new blueprint for the development of bilateral relations," he said.

Xi is currently making a six-day visit to Europe, his first European tour in five years. The three-nation trip has already taken him to France, and later he will go to Hungary.