BEIJING, Dec. 22  -- British and Serbian media, in the wake of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's just-concluded three-nation Eurasian tour, have positively commented on the development of relations and cooperation between China and Serbia over recent years.

On Dec. 14-20, Li traveled to Kazakhstan, Serbia and Thailand and attended a series of international meetings in the three countries, with the achievement of fruitful results.

While in the Serbian capital, Li and Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the Mihailo Pupin Bridge spanning the Danube in west Belgrade.

In a report released Friday on the project, British newspaper Financial Times noted that the 1.5-km-long bridge is intended to ease traffic in and around the Serbian capital.

Yet Li's visit to Belgrade has a considerably greater significance -- the latest steps in China's efforts to use the Balkans as a bridge to Europe, the newspaper added in the article, which is titled "China looks to Europe -- through the Balkans."

The relationship is seen as a win-win: Chinese companies win contracts in Europe, establishing a long-desired footprint in the continent, while cash-strapped Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries get much-needed infrastructure investments at a low cost, said the newspaper.

Investments in manufacturing and other sectors are expected to pick up, too, as China looks to capitalize on the region's markets, location and trade access, it added.

In an article published on the British newspaper, Vucic said Serbia is well placed to become the gateway between east and west, while China plays a central role in the global economy.

Far from being the world's low-cost manufacturing base, China's economic future lies in the areas of technology and brand development, added the Serbian prime minister.

"With our proximity to EU markets, lower operating costs and support for foreign direct investment, I believe that it is a more attractive destination for Chinese firms than ever," Vucic said.

Meanwhile, major Serbian newspapers also evaluated Li's visit with optimism.

Vecernje Novosti, one of Serbia's most popular newspapers, dedicated two thirds of its front page Friday to reporting the ribbon-cutting ceremony with a headline "From Zemun to Borca in 9 Minutes."

Four pages of Friday's edition of Vecernje Novosti were dedicated to the opening of the bridge. The newspaper quoted Li as saying that the bridge "is a fruit of joint efforts of our two friendly nations." It also cited Vucic as saying that thanks to China, Serbia will construct more highways in 2016 and 2017.

In another article, Vecernje Novosti revealed that so far 12 Chinese companies have expressed interest in investing in Serbia in such fields as automobile, mining, agriculture and food.

Another leading Serbian newspaper, Politika, also stressed that "Belgrade gets the second bridge across the Danube after 79 years" and that Li and Vucic announced the launch of new cooperation projects.

Politika noted that Li said Chinese businessmen will be encouraged to open factories along the 350-km-long high-speed railway to be constructed by the end of 2017 between Belgrade and Budapest, the capital of Hungary.

The newspaper predicted that Serbia will in future have a more important status in the cooperation between China and 16 CEE countries.

With a headline of "Chinese Passed the Test in Serbia," Serbian daily Danas quoted Li as saying that China will continue to finance and construct infrastructure in both Serbia and the region in line with European standards.