Bank of China opened a branch in Serbia on Saturday, becoming the first Chinese bank starting operation in the country.

The official opening ceremony took place at Palace of Serbia, in the presence of Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic, Bank of China Chairman Tian Guoli, Chinese Ambassador to Serbia Li Manchang and members of the Serbian government.

Speaking at the ceremony, Tian said that the official launch of Bank of China Serbia in Belgrade was an important step taken by the bank to satisfy the growing demand for economic cooperation between Serbia and China.

Bank of China will make further contributions to China's Belt and Road Initiative through its financial services.

"With the launch of Bank of China Serbia, we'd like to grasp the historic opportunity of deepening bilateral trade cooperation, make the best use of our advantages of internationalization, diversification and professionalization, serve clients of the two countries with better financial services, and contribute more to bilateral trade development and financial cooperation," Tian said.

President Nikolic said at the ceremony, "I am thankful to the governments of both countries for their dedication to joint projects, of which the opening of the branch of Bank of China is one of the most important."

Serbian Finance Minister Dusan Vujovic said that because of the opening of the new bank branch, the relations between the two countries have an opportunity to deepen even more.