Visiting Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic on Tuesday pledged to deepen bilateral relations with China, saying Serbia could become a foothold for Chinese enterprises in Europe.

Serbia looks forward to deepening cooperation with Chinese enterprises which mainly focus on infrastructure construction, Nikolic said at a press conference in Beijing during a state visit to China from August 25 to 29, adding that he has brought new energy cooperation programs during this trip.

"If Europe is an ocean, Serbia could turn into an island to provide a foothold for Chinese enterprises in Europe," he said.

Calling China a great friend and cooperative partner, the Serbian president highly praised China's achievements in recent decades, adding that Serbian people believe China will realize the Chinese dream under the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

During a meeting on Monday, the Serbian and Chinese presidents agreed to continue to support each other on issues relating to core interests, and reinforce exchanges on government issues, the legislature, political parties and at the local level, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The two countries also agreed to expand the scale of trade and investment, and enhance cooperation on infrastructure construction, energy, science, technology and the agriculture, information and automobile industries. The two sides will push forward the establishment of cultural centers in the other country.

After the talks, they signed a joint statement on deepening the bilateral strategic partnership, according to Xinhua.

In a speech at the beginning of the press conference, Nikolic said Serbia appreciates China's support for Serbia in its efforts to safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity, especially China's support for Serbia's concerns on Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008.

Similarly, Serbia firmly supports China's one-China policy, said the Serbian president. Serbia fully understands and supports China's concerns on Taiwan, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and Tibet Autonomous Region, he added.