State visits by Xi Jinping to France, Serbia and Hungary

[1][2] In April 2024, Chinese Director of the Office of the CCP Central Foreign Affairs Commission Wang Yi communicated with Emmanuel Bonne, the diplomatic advisor to the President of France by telephone on a trip for "adding new connotations to the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries",[3][4] days ahead of this expected state visits to Europe.

[5] Xi Jinping's trip coincided with the 25th anniversary of the May 7, 1999 United States bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, and public opinion has focused on China's attitude and actions toward NATO as reflected in the event.

[6] Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's chief of staff Gergely Gulyas told a press conference on April 25, 2024, that Xi Jinping will visit Hungary on May 8–10.

[17] Following discussion on the granting of visas,[18] China has announced to extend the visa-free policy until December 31, 2025, for 12 countries: France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Malaysia, Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg.

[20][21][22] In advance of the visit to Serbia, which overlapped with the 25th anniversary of the United States bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade during the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia which killed three Chinese journalists, Xi wrote an article in the Serbian newspaper Politika stating, "The friendship between China and Serbia which is soaked in blood that the two peoples spilled together has become a joint memory of the two peoples and will encourage both parties to make together huge steps forward.

[32][33] On the morning of May 9, Xi attended a welcoming ceremony jointly hosted by Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in Budapest.