2nd LD: Xi pays homage to Chinese martyrs killed in NATO bombing

Chinese President Xi Jinping paid homage to the Chinese martyrs killed in the NATO bombing of the former Chinese embassy in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in May 1999, after arriving here Friday for a state visit to Serbia.

As the first public event of the visit, Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan joined Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic, Parliament Speaker Maja Gojkovic, Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and all other cabinet members in paying silent tribute to the martyrs.

Leaders of the two countries laid wreaths to a new cenotaph erected on the site where the destroyed embassy once stood. Engraved with "Honor Martyrs, Cherish Peace," the cenotaph was set up by the Chinese government on Friday.

The three victims of the deadly bombing were journalists Shao Yunhuan of Xinhua News Agency, and Xu Xinghu and his wife Zhu Ying, of the Guangming Daily newspaper.

Xi and Nikolic stressed that the time-honored traditional friendship and the special friendly sentiments between their two countries are forged with blood and lives, and will be passed on for generations.

China and Serbia will join hands in promoting development and peace, said the two presidents.

After the mourning, the two leaders attended a ceremony to lay the cornerstone for a Chinese culture center to be built on the embassy site.

On May 7, 1999, U.S.-led NATO forces carried out a barbaric missile attack on the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, which left the three journalists dead, dozens of others injured, and the embassy building severely damaged.

To commemorate the fallen Chinese reporters and thank China for its support to Serbia, the Belgrade city government set up the first cenotaph in front of the bombarded embassy site on May 7, 2009. Endi