Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has arrived in Germany for an official visit. Earlier, he met with his counterparts from the Czech Republic, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Bulgarian capital Sofia. The bilateral meetings were held on the sidelines the 7th China-Central and Eastern Europe summit. The leaders of the three countries praised the 16+1 mechanism as a good platform to deepen bilateral cooperation with China. Timothy Ulrich has more.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang says China wants to deepen bilateral cooperation with Czech Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro.

In a meeting with Montenegro's Prime Minister Dusko Markovic, Li said China is ready to increase deep and pragmatic cooperation with the country. He said the construction of an expressway linking Bar on the south coast of Montenegro to the Serbian capital Belgrade and beyond is a good model for cooperation between the two sides. He said Beijing supports Chinese enterprises investing in Montenegro. Markovic hailed the friendship, mutual trust and deepened economic cooperation between the two countries. He said Montenegro benefits a lot from the 16 plus one mechanism that links China and the Central and Eastern European Countries.

Premier Li also met with his Czech counterpart Andrej Babis. He said the two sides should broaden bilateral investment and trade, especially in finance, aerospace, car-building and agriculture. Li said the Czech Republic is a beautiful country and China is encouraging tourists to go there, and also invites more Czechs to travel to China. Babis said the Czech Republic upholds the One-China policy and wants to continue to be involved in the 16+1 mechanism.

Meeting with his counterpart from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denis Zvizdic, Premier Li said China wants to continue to develop coal-burning thermal power stations in the country, and deepen cooperation in tourism and forestry. Zvizdic said his country values the 16+1 mechanism and appreciates the involvement of Chinese enterprises in building infrastructure. Timothy Ulrich, CGTN.