Premier Li Keqiang and visiting Serbia Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic pledged to promote political trust and pragmatic cooperation on Wednesday.

Li said the bilateral ties of China and Serbia have followed the principle of mutual respect since the two established a strategic partnership in 2009. Serbia was the first among Central and Eastern European countries to establish a partnership with China.

Li said China will carry out the ongoing Serbia-Hungary rail upgrade project, which will connect the capitals of the two countries. It will be the first cross-border transportation infrastructure project among the CEE countries.

"China will make the project a model of China-CEE cooperation," Li said.

Calling Serbia a sincere friend of China, Vucic said his country is willing to "cooperate with China in all aspects."

China is Serbia’s fourth largest source of imports. It imported $366 million in goods from China in the first quarter this year, according to China’s Ministry of Commerce.