AtrainrunsontheBelgrade-NoviSadhigh-speedrailwayontheDanuberiverinSerbia,March12,2024.(PhotobyRenWeiyun/Xinhua)ChinesePresidentXiJinping'supcomingvisitsareexpectedtopromotethesustained,steadyandsounddevelopmentofChina-Europerelations,helpprovidemorestabilityandcertaintyforaturbulentworld,andfurtherenergizeglobaldevelopment.BEIJING,April30(Xinhua)--ChinesePresidentXiJinpingwillpaystatevisitstoFrance,SerbiaandHungaryfromMay5to10.ThevisitswillbetheChinesepresident'sfirsttriptoEuropeinthepastnearlyfiveyears.Xi'stripisexpectedtoenhancebilateralrelationswiththethreecountriesandboosttheirmutuallybeneficialcooperation.Meanwhile,ChinaandtheEuropeanUnion(EU)aretwomajorforcesadvancingmultipolarity,twomajormarketsinsupportofglobalization,andtwomajorcivilizationschampioningdiversity.Xi'supcomingvisitsareexpectedtopromotethesustained,steadyandsounddevelopmentofChina-Europerelations,helpprovidemorestabilityandcertaintyforaturbulentworld,andfurtherenergizeglobaldevelopment.UNIQUEHISTORY,STEADYPARTNERSHIPXi'supcomingvisittoFrancemarkshisthirdstatevisittotheEuropeancountryaftervisitsin2014and2019.Thisvisitwilltakeplaceduringthe60thanniversaryyearofChina-Francediplomaticties,whichgivesthevisitspecialmeaningasanimportantopportunitytobuildonpastachievementsandguidethefutureforbilateralties.Undertheguidanceofthetwoheadsofstate,ChinaandFrancehavewitnessedthesteadydevelopmentoftheirbilateralcomprehensivestrategicpartnership.Thetwocountrieshavealsobecomestaunchadvocatesforthemulti-polarizationoftheworldandthedemocratizationofinternationalrelations.Astoday'sworldisonceagainatacriticalcrossroads,ChinaandFranceshouldjointlyopenupapathofpeace,security,prosperityandprogressforhumandevelopment,XisaidinJanuarywhileexchangingcongratulationswithhisFrenchcounterpart,EmmanuelMacron,onthe60thanniversaryofdiplomatictiesbetweenthetwocountries.Therearemany"firsts"inChina-Francerelations:FranceisthefirstmajorWesternnationtoformalizediplomaticrelationswiththePeople'sRepublicofChinain1964,andthefirstmajorWesterncountrytoformacomprehensivestrategicpartnershipwithBeijing.TheEuropeancountryisalsothefirstamongWesternnationstoconductciviliannuclearenergycooperationwithChina.VisitorswalkpasttheFrancepavilionduringthesecondChinaInternationalImportExpo(CIIE)inShanghai,eastChina,Nov.5,2019.(Xinhua/ZhangYuwei)Theuniquehistoryofbilateraltieshasshapedthe"China-Francespirit,"featuringindependence,mutualunderstanding,foresight,mutualbenefitandwin-wincooperation.Overthepastsixdecades,thisdynamicrelationshiphaswitnessednumeroushistoricmilestonesandtangibleaccomplishments.Tradeisoneexample.BilateraltradebetweenChinaandFrancehassurgeddramatically,increasing800-foldtoreach78.9billionU.S.dollarsin2023.ChinaisnowFrance'slargesttradingpartnerinAsia,whileFranceranksasChina'sthird-largesttradingpartnerandthethird-largestsourceofinvestmentinrealtermswithintheEuropeanUnion(EU).ChinaandFrancearerepresentativesofEasternandWesterncivilizationsrespectively.Inrecentyears,thetwosideshavecontinuouslyexpandedtheirculturalandpeople-to-peopleexchanges.Forexample,thetwosideshavecooperatedintherestorationandprotectionoftheirrespectiveiconicculturalheritages,includingtheNotreDameCathedralinParisandChina'sTerracottaWarriors.Thetwosideshavealsosetupculturalcentersineachother'scountriesanddesignated2024astheChina-FranceYearofCultureandTourism.ThoughFranceandChinaareverydifferentregardingculture,historyandpoliticalsystems,"wecandrawinspirationfromourdifferencestoprogresstogether,"saidEricAlauzet,presidentoftheFrance-ChinafriendshipgroupoftheFrenchNationalAssembly.Thekeyis"totalktoeachother,tolistentoeachother,andtounderstandeachother,"hesaid.IRONCLADFRIENDSHIP"Ironclad"isoftenusedtodescribetherelationshipbetweenChinaandSerbia.XicalledSerbia"anironcladfriend"ofChinaduringhismeetingwithSerbianPresidentAleksandarVucic,whowasinBeijingtoattendthethirdBeltandRoadForumforInternationalCooperationinOctoberlastyear.HesaidthatbilateralrelationshavewithstoodchangesintheinternationallandscapeoverrecentyearsandareanexampleoffriendlyrelationsbetweenChinaandEuropeancountries.Inresponse,VucicsaidhiscountryisproudofitsironcladfriendshipwithChina.ThefruitfulBeltandRoadcooperationbetweenChinaandSerbiaisatestamenttothespecialrelationship.SteelcoilsareseenatthesteelworksofHBISSerbiainSmederevo,Serbia,May5,2023.(Xinhua/RenPengfei)Thehigh-speedtrainlinkingtheSerbiancapitalBelgradeandthecountry'ssecond-largestcityNoviSadisapartoftheBelgrade-Budapestrailway.ItisakeyprojectofcooperationbetweenChinaandCentralandEasternEuropeancountriesundertheBeltandRoadInitiative.InMarch,theBelgrade-NoviSadhigh-speedrailwaymarkeditssecondanniversary.Overthepasttwoyears,therailwayhastransportedsome6.83millionpassengers,effectivelyenhancinglocalconnectivity.TherebirthofSmederevoSteelworksisanothergoodexampleofastrongpartnership.Theplant,locatedneartheDanubeRiverandconsideredtheprideofSerbia,wasonceonthevergeofbankruptcy.However,withtheburgeoningBeltandRoadcooperationbetweenChinaandSerbia,thecentury-oldfactoryexperiencedaremarkableresurgence.AfteraChinesecompanyinvestedinthemillin2016,thingschanged:Thousandsofjobsweresaved,andtheproductioncapacityandenvironmentalperformancegreatlyimproved.Meanwhile,SerbiaandChinaareclosetradingpartners.TheEuropeancountryhasparticipatedintheChinaInternationalImportExpoforsixconsecutiveyears.Beer,redwines,agriculturalproducts,andotherproductsfromSerbiahavebecomefavoriteswithChineseconsumers.InOctober2023,ChinaandSerbiasignedafreetradeagreementtoboostbilateraltradeandbusinessties,thefirstoneinkedbyChinawithacountryfromCentralandEasternEurope.ThebrotherlyfriendshipbetweenChinaandSerbiaisalsoattributedtothefactthattheyalwayshelpeachotherinhoursofurgentneed.In2008,afteramajorearthquakeoccurredinChina'sSichuanProvince,SerbiamobilizedabatchoftentsfromitsmilitaryreservestoaidChina'sdisasterareas.DuringtheCOVID-19pandemic,theChinesegovernmentdispatchedamedicalexpertteamtoSerbiatoassistincombatingtheoutbreak.SerbianPresidentAleksandarVucic(L)greetsmembersoftheChinesemedicalteamviaelbowcontactinBelgrade,Serbia,March21,2020.(Xinhua/ShiZhongyu)Xi'svisittoSerbiawillbehissecondvisittothecountryineightyears,whichwillmarkanimportantmilestoneforstrengtheningandelevatingChina-Serbiaties.NEWCHAPTERINCHINA-HUNGARYCOOPERATIONXi'supcomingvisittoHungarymarkshisfirststatevisittotheEuropeancountryasChina'sheadofstate.Overthepast75yearssinceestablishingdiplomaticrelations,ChinaandHungaryhaveenjoyedmutualrespect,mutualunderstanding,mutualsupportandmutualtrust.HungaryisthefirstEuropeancountrytosignaBeltandRoadcooperationdocumentwithChina.In2017,thetwocountriesannouncedtheestablishmentofacomprehensivestrategicpartnership.AChina-EuropefreighttrainboundforBudapest,HungaryleavesalogisticsbaseinHefei,eastChina'sAnhuiProvince,July29,2022.(PhotobyXiJingyu/Xinhua)ChinaiswillingtocontinuetobegoodfriendsandpartnerswithHungarywhotrusteachotherandpursuewin-wincooperation,andtaketheChina-Hungarycomprehensivestrategicpartnershiptonewlevels,XisaidduringhismeetingwithHungarianPrimeMinisterViktorOrbaninBeijinginOctober2023.Withthecareandstrategicguidanceoftheleadersofbothcountries,China-Hungaryconnectivitycontinuestodeepen,withpragmaticcooperationflourishing.BothsidesarepromotingadeepsynergyoftheBeltandRoadInitiativewithHungary's"OpeningtotheEast"policy.FromdirectcargoflightsbetweenBudapestandChinesecitiesincludingZhengzhouandNingbo,totheefficientoperationofChina-Europefreighttrains,theenhancedtransportationnetworkhassignificantlyboostedHungary'spositionasatransportationhubintheregion.Moreover,bothChinaandHungaryhavealonghistoryandsplendidcultures,andthepeoplesofthetwocountrieshaveenjoyedatime-testedfriendshipandincreasinglycloseculturalexchanges.Lastyear,inhisreplytoaletterfromstudentsoftheHungarian-ChinesebilingualschoolinHungary,XiencouragedHungarianyouthstolearnmoreaboutChinaandbecomeenvoysoftheChina-Hungaryfriendship.AChineseteacherinstructsstudentsonChinesecalligraphyatHungarian-ChinesebilingualschoolinBudapest,Hungary,Feb.24,2023.(Xinhua/LianYi)FoundedinSeptember2004,theHungarian-Chinesebilingualschoolisthefirstfull-timeschoolinCentralandEasternEuropethatusesbothChineseandthelocallanguageforinstruction,amodelofculturalandeducationalcooperationbetweenthetwocountries.SUSTAINED,SOUNDCHINA-EUROPERELATIONSChinaalwaysviewsitsrelationswithEuropefromastrategicandlong-termperspectiveandviewsEuropeasacomprehensivestrategicpartnerandanimportantforceinamulti-polarworld.Thetwosidesshoulddomoretoincreasethebreadthanddepthofcooperationandtightenthebondofsharedinterests,XisaidinDecember2023duringhismeetingwithPresidentoftheEuropeanCouncilCharlesMichelandPresidentoftheEuropeanCommissionUrsulavonderLeyeninBeijing.Withconcertedeffortsfrombothsides,ChinaandtheEUhaveemergedaseachother'ssecond-largesttradingpartners,underscoringthefactthatforChinaandtheEU,cooperationfaroutweighscompetition,andtheareasofconsensusfarexceeddifferences.PhototakenonMay27,2021showstheKaposvarsolarpowerplantinKaposvar,Hungary.Hungaryinauguratedthecountry'slargestsolarpowerplant,whichwasbuiltbyChinaNationalMachineryImportandExportCorporation(CMC)nearthesouthwesterncityofKaposvar.(PhotobyAttilaVolgyi/Xinhua)In2023,theChina-Europefreighttrainservicehadconnected219citiesin25Europeancountries,establishingasecureandefficientlifelineforglobalindustrialandsupplychains.Meanwhile,Chinahasgrantedvisa-freeentrytomultipleEuropeancountries,facilitatingpersonnelexchangesandeconomicandtradeactivitiesbetweenthetwosides.KeycooperationprojectsundertheBeltandRoad,suchastheBelgrade-Budapestrailway,thePortofPiraeusinGreece,andthePeljesacBridgeinCroatia,continuetobenefitpeoplealongtheroutes.Astheinternationallandscapeisundergoingprofoundchanges,globalobservershopethatChinaandEuropecanstrengthentheircommunicationandcooperation."ManyagreewiththeChinesepresident'sprinciplethatweareallinthesameboat,(and)thatourcommondestinyislinked,"saidStephanOssenkopp,aseniorresearcherwiththeGermanthinktanktheSchillerInstitute."ArespectfulexchangebetweenourcivilizationsatbothendsoftheEurasiancontinentisessential,"saidOssenkopp.Meanwhile,LyazidBenhami,vicepresidentoftheParisAssociationofFrench-ChineseFriendship,said"ChinaandEuropearetwomajorglobalplayers,andglobalchallengesrequirethemtoworktogether.""Dialogueandjointactionbasedonmutualrespectaretheonlytoolscapableofbringingaboutabettersharedfuture,"saidBenhami.Editor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.