The bombing in Belgrade in 1999 occurred during NATO’s air war over Kosovo.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping continued his European tour by visiting ally Serbia on Tuesday.
The trip falls on a symbolic date: the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade during NATO’s air war over Kosovo.
US jets dropped five bombs on the Chinese Embassy compound in the Serbian capital on May 7, 1999. Three Chinese nationals were killed and twenty others were injured.
Xi referenced the bombing directly in an op-ed published in Serbia’s Politika newspaper on Tuesday, where he wrote “We must not forget that 25 years ago today, NATO brazenly bombed the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia,” according to translations carried by Chinese state media.
“The Chinese people value peace but will never allow historical tragedies to happen again,” Xi added.
The Western military alliance had launched the air war in March of that year to force the then President of Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milosevic to end a brutal onslaught against ethnic Albanian rebels in Kosovo.
The US apologised at the time, blaming the bombing due to an intelligence mistake. Washington said that the intended target was the headquarters of a Serbian state arms exporter which was located on the same street.
Relations between China and Serbia have grown closer as a result of the incident, with China emerging as Serbia’s largest provider of foreign direct investment and its second-largest trading partner after the European Union itself.
Serbia has been an ally of China’s, opening its doors to Chinese investment despite the EU’s distaste.
Xi arrived from France and will next travel to Hungary for his first European tour in five years.
