Chinese president Xi Jinping to visit Serbia on May 7-8

Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic will host the meetings with his Chinese counterpart, Vucic's office said in a statement without giving further details.

Xi Jinping's visit to Serbia is part of his May 5-10 European tour when he will also visit France and Hungary in an attempt to strengthen ties with the EU, according the Chinese foreign ministry.

China has invested billions of euro in Serbia in the past decade, mostly in energy projects and as loans for infrastructure.

Last year, China's Zijin Mining Group, Zijin Bor Copper and the Serbian arm of steel producer HBIS Group were Serbia's three leading exporters, according to finance ministry data.

In October, Serbia and China signed a free trade agreement during Vucic's visit to Beijing to attend China's third Belt and Road Forum for international cooperation.

In September, Zijin Mining Group said it will invest $3.8 billion in the development of the Cukaru Peki Lower Zone mine of the Timok copper-gold project in eastern Serbia.

Most recently in January, Serbia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China’s Shanghai Fengling Renewables Co Ltd and Serbia Zijin Copper for a 2 billion euro ($2.17 billion) investment in renewable energy facilities with a total capacity of 2 GW, including a 1,500 MW wind power plant, a 500 MW solar power plant, and a factory for the production of green hydrogen with a capacity of around 30,000 metric tons annually.