BEIJING, Dec. 23 -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday sent a congratulatory message to Serbia on the start of a joint railway project in the Balkan country.

In the message, Li said the start of construction of the Serbia-Hungary railway, a flagship project between China and the two countries, indicated that their trilateral cooperation has taken an important step forward.

It also showed that the pragmatic cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries has seen a new start, he added.

China is willing to join hands with Serbia and Hungary to ensure the completion of the project as scheduled and open the railway to traffic as soon as possible, Li said.

The premier expressed his belief that the railway will not only boost infrastructure construction and interconnectivity in the region, but also enhance the European integration process, better dovetail the development strategies of China and Europe as well as deepen China-Europe reciprocal and win-win cooperation in production capacity, investment and other areas.

Addressing a ceremony of starting the project, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic expressed thanks for the arduous efforts made by both Chinese and Serbian teams to push ahead the Hungary-Serbia railway project, saying the startup of the project is another breakthrough in pragmatic cooperation between Serbia and China.

It also fully manifests the further enhancement of the strategic partnership between the two countries, Vucic said.

The Hungary-Serbia railway significantly brings Serbia closer to the central zones of Europe, and will help build Serbia into a regional pivot of transportation and logistics, Vucic said.

Serbia stands ready to work together with China to ensure the opening of the Hungary-Serbia railway in 2018.