Chinese special police took part in their first joint training drills in Europe on Thursday, joining Serbia's elite anti-terrorist unit and local police in an exercise at a Chinese-owned steel mill outside Belgrade.

Machine-gun fire and stun-grenade blasts shook the plant in Smederevo, 60 km east of the Serbian capital, as police from the two countries used three helicopters and 20 armored vehicles in a staged raid to rescue hostages.

Serbia's interior minister, Nebojsa Stefanovic, said he planned more cooperation with Chinese law enforcement agencies, saying Serbia is "learning from a bigger and stronger" country. "China is not only our strategic partner, but also ... a friendly and a brotherly country," he told reporters.