The Chinese premier Li Keqiang has visited Serbia’s capital Belgrade to discuss joint infrastructure projects with central and eastern European countries.

One of the projects agreed during the visit is a new high-speed rail link between Belgrade and Budapest, thanks to a deal signed by Mr Li and the presidents of Hungary and Serbia, Viktor Orban and Aleksandar Vucic on December 17th.

China has also discussed plans to improve connections with the Greek port of Piraeus. While Greece has suffered financially in recent years, it still has one of the largest sea presences of any country in the world. It also trades substantially with China. The value of bilateral trade between the two countries is approximately £32 billion for the first ten months of 2014.

Russia is normally a major power broker in Eastern Europe, but with the crash in value of the rouble, western sanctions over the Ukrainian situation and the falling price of oil, it is expected to scale back its investment in the region.