Chinese President Xi Jinping makes a toast during a welcoming banquet held by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Madame Tamara Vucic in Belgrade, Serbia, May 8, 2024. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Madame Peng Liyuan attended the welcoming banquet on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)

Chinese President Xi Jinping shared his special bond with the Serbian people on Wednesday, saying he enjoyed Yugoslav films and songs when he was young.

"The Yugoslav film The Bridge and the song Bella Ciao, which evoke strong patriotic and anti-Fascism sentiments, have been immensely popular in China through the years and became my companion in my youthful days," Xi said when attending a welcome banquet held by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

The Chinese people have always cherished a special bond of friendship with Serbia, he said, adding that Serbian athletes Novak Djokovic and Nikola Jokic, and movie director Emir Kusturica are household names in China.

Xi pointed out that Serbia, located on "the west of the East, and east of the West," has long been known as "the gateway to the Balkans."

For centuries, this land has been a meeting place of diverse civilizations on the Eurasian continent, which in many ways shaped the diligent, kind, and unyielding character of the Serbian people, he said.

During a joint press conference with Vucic on Wednesday afternoon, Xi mentioned the warm greetings he had received in the country. On Tuesday evening, upon Xi's arrival, Vucic and his wife, leading a delegation of senior Serbian officials, went to the airport to greet him and his wife in person, which was very touching, Xi said.

Prior to their meeting, Vucic accompanied Xi to the platform of the Palace of Serbia. On the square in front of the Palace, some 15,000 Serbian people were waving national flags of China and Serbia to express the warmest welcome to Xi. The Chinese leader waved to the crowd, which burst into jubilant, prolonged applause and cheers.

Later in his meeting with Vucic, Xi said that he was deeply touched when he was greeted at the airport by President Vucic together with many senior government officials who held a grand welcoming ceremony for his visit.

He also said he was deeply moved by the genuine friendliness toward China from the Serbian people who are good friends of the Chinese people.

In a signed article published prior to his arrival in Serbia, he said "There has always been an affinity between Chinese and Serbian peoples despite the long distance between us."

"During the bitter Anti-Fascist War and our respective nation-building in the last century, the Chinese and Serbian peoples forged a strong friendship that extends through time and space," said the article.