Chinese President Xi Jinping has vowed to "never forget" the deadly NATO bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade.

"Twenty-five years ago, NATO crudely bombed the Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia, killing three Chinese journalists," the Chinese President told Serbian newspaper Politika before his visit to Belgrade. - We must never forget this. We will never allow such a tragic history to repeat itself."

Three Chinese journalists were killed during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999. The White House later called the incident a mistake and blamed faulty maps. The event sparked anti-American protests across China and reinforced Beijing's distrust of U.S.-led groups such as NATO.

Xi Jinping is making state visits to Europe for the first time in 5 years: his first visit was to France, and next the Chinese President will visit Serbia and Hungary.