Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang has arrived in Serbia for a summit with leaders from 16 Central and Eastern European countries.
Trade and investments between China and the region will be on the agenda of the December 16 gathering in Belgrade.
Most of the participating countries are EU members.
Beijing has said it is interested in investing in the region's energy, agriculture, industry, and infrastructure.
Li is to hold talks with his Hungarian and Serbian counterparts, Viktor Orban and Aleksandar Vucic, over plans for a high-speed train link between Budapest and Belgrade to be built by 2017.
The Chinese prime minister is scheduled to remain until December 18 in Serbia, where he is to inaugurate a 1.5-kilometer bridge built over the Danube by a Chinese company.
