Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) meets with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 2, 2018. Plenkovic will attend the first China International Import Expo in Shanghai. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)

BEIJING, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- China supports enterprises from both China and Croatia to make use of their complementary advantages and strengthen cooperation in areas including ports, railway infrastructure construction and shipbuilding, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said Friday.

Li made the remarks when he met with visiting Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, who will attend the first China International Import Expo from Nov. 5 to 10.

Li said that China-Croatia relations have maintained a good momentum of development. The two sides have solid political mutual trust, increasing bilateral trade volume and active humanities exchanges.

China is ready to work with Croatia to synergize their development strategies, deepen pragmatic cooperation in various fields, expand the integration of interests and further promote the bilateral comprehensive cooperative partnership, said Li.

"The two sides should strengthen cooperation in fields including humanities, tourism and sports and facilitate personnel exchanges," Li said.

Calling the 16+1 cooperation an important part and helpful complement to China-European relations, Li stressed that China is willing to actively cooperate with the Croatian side for the preparation of the eighth China-Central and Eastern European Countries leaders' meeting next year and push the cooperation between China and central and eastern European countries to a higher level.

For his part, Plenkovic said the Croatia-China relations have developed in a healthy and stable manner, bilateral economic, trade and investment cooperation has been pragmatic and efficient. The Croatian side firmly adheres to the one-China policy and is willing to further explore the Chinese market and strengthen cooperation in trade, shipbuilding, tourism and culture.

He said Croatia is willing to work closely with China to ensure the success of the China-Central and Eastern European Countries leaders' meeting next year.