Premier Li Keqiang was welcomed by Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic as he landed on the Zagreb Airport late on Tuesday to kick off his first official visit to Croatia.

Bilateral cooperation has made important breakthroughs in diverse fields between China and Croatia, said Premier Li upon arrival. He said the visit is expected to consolidate their traditional friendship and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation to move forward the comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level.

During the visit, Li and Plenkovic will hold talks, meet journalists and attend the opening ceremony of the China-Croatia Year of Cultural Tourism. A number of agreements will be signed between the two countries.

After schedules in the Croatian capital, Li will fly to the coastal city of Dubrovnik to attend the eighth Meeting of Heads of Government between China and Central and Eastern European Countries.

The meeting, also known as the "16+1" mechanism, has made fruitful achievements in trade, investment, the financial sector, infrastructure, agriculture and people-to-people exchanges, Li said.

China is ready to work with the 16 CEE nations to build the mechanism into a vital platform for aligning the Belt and Road Initiative with Eurasian connectivity strategy, and inject new vitality into China-CEEC relations and European integration, the premier added.