DETROIT (AP) — Jack Leiter, the 23-year-old son of former major league pitcher Al Leiter, is to make his major league debut for the Texas Rangers against the Detroit Tigers on Thursday.
Texas said Tuesday it intended to select the contract of Leiter from Triple-A Round Rock, where he is 1-1 with a 3.73 ERA in two starts and one relief appearance this season.
Taken second overall in the 2021 amateur draft from Vanderbilt, Leiter has pitched 14 1/3 innings this season with 25 strikeouts and three walks. He struck out 10 over six innings against Oklahoma City last Friday, allowing three runs and six hits.
Leiter struggled at Double-A Frisco in his first pro season in 2022, going 3-10 with a 5.54 ERA. He split last season at Frisco and Round Rock, finishing 2-6 with a 5.19 ERA starts with 114 strikeouts and 49 walks in 85 innings.
Left-hander Andrew Heaney had been slated to start in Thursday's series finale but is being pushed back to Friday's series opener at Atlanta.
Al Leiter was a two-time All-Star and won 162 games over 19 seasons from 1987-2005.
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FILE - Texas Rangers pitcher Jack Leiter poses in Surprise, Ariz., Feb. 20, 2024. Jack Leiter, the 23-year-old son of former major league pitcher Al Leiter, is to make his major league debut for the Texas Rangers against the Detroit Tigers on Thursday, April 18. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping's visit to European ally Serbia on Tuesday falls on a symbolic date: the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade during NATO's air war over Kosovo.
U.S. jets dropped five bombs on the Chinese Embassy compound in the Serbian capital on May 7, 1999, setting it ablaze and killing three Chinese nationals. Twenty other people were injured in the bombing, which has burdened relations between the two powers ever since.
Xi referred to the bombing in an op-ed published in Serbia’s Politika newspaper on Tuesday, saying that “we must not forget that 25 years ago today, NATO brazenly bombed the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia,” according to translations carried by Chinese state media.
“The Chinese people value peace but will never allow historical tragedies to happen again," Xi added.
The Western military alliance had launched the air war in March that year to force then Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic to end a brutal onslaught against ethnic Albanian rebels in Kosovo.
The U.S. at the time apologized and said the embassy bombing was a mistake that happened due to faulty intelligence. The intended target, Washington said, was the headquarters of a Serbian state arms exporter located on the same street, a few blocks away.
“Imagine that somebody would, even by accident, strike an American Embassy somewhere around the world. The reaction would be immediate,” said Sven Biscop, a professor of European foreign and security policy at the Ghent University and Egmont Institute.
“So for a country like China, it is also clear that this is a big thing," he added. "And, of course, it has not been forgotten.”
Angry protesters in China stormed U.S. diplomatic installations as the bombing fueled anti-American sentiments and speculation that the attack was intentional rather than accidental. Mistrust over the incident has endured to this day.
“We will probably never really conclusively know either way," Biscop said. “But one thing is sure. In war, incidents like that do happen, and I usually tend to go for the most simple explanation rather than try to invent complicated theories.”
While straining Beijing's relations with the U.S., the embassy bombing brought China and Serbia closer together. China has emerged as Serbia’s largest provider of foreign direct investment and its second-largest trading partner after the European Union.
Beijing opposed the NATO bombing campaign and has since backed Belgrade's bid to counter the Western-backed push for independence in Kosovo, a former Serbian province. In return, Serbia has been a loyal ally to Beijing and has opened its doors without restraint to billions of dollars of Chinese investment, even as it formally seeks EU membership.
"The friendship forged in blood between the peoples of China and Serbia has become the common memory of the two peoples and will inspire both sides to move forward together,” Xi wrote. “We are willing to work with our Serbian friends to stay true to our original aspirations, join hands in progress, write a new chapter in national development and revitalization, and build a China-Serbia community with a shared future for mankind in the new era.”
Signs of pro-China sentiments were clearly visible ahead of Xi's visit on Tuesday and Wednesday. In Belgrade, a huge Chinese flag was placed on a skyscraper along a roadway leading into the city from the airport. Smaller Chinese and Serbian flags could be seen downtown and along a highway.
Serbia's air force MiG-29 jets escorted Xi's presidential plane to the Belgrade airport.
Xi arrived from France and will later travel to Hungary as part of his first European tour in five years.
He is expected to visit the site of the former embassy and pay his respects to the bombing victims. A Chinese cultural center now stands at the spot where the embassy was once located.
The sprawling complex reportedly includes a Confucius Institute, workshops, exhibitions, offices, residential space and a hotel. It is seen as a symbol of China's growing influence in Serbia and across Europe.
Near the institute, a group of visitors from China last weekend bowed in front of a simple black-marble monument and laid flowers in honor of the victims of the 1999 bombing. An inscription on the monument in both Chinese and English reads: “Honor Martyrs, Cherish Peace.”
Associated Press writers Sylvain Plazy in Brussels and Christopher Bodeen in Taipei, Taiwan, contributed to this report.
In this photo provided by the Serbian Presidential Press Service, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, center right, welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping, center left, and his wife Peng Liyuan during a welcome ceremony upon his arrival at the Nikola Tesla airport in Belgrade, Serbia, Tuesday, May 7, 2024. (Serbian Presidential Press Service via AP)
In this image provided by the Serbian Presidential Press Service, Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, reviews the honor guard with his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic during a welcome ceremony upon his arrival at the Nikola Tesla airport in Belgrade, Serbia, Tuesday, May 7, 2024. (Serbian Presidential Press Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Serbian Presidential Press Service, Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and his wife Peng Liyuan wave during a welcome ceremony upon arrival at the Nikola Tesla airport in Belgrade, Serbia, Tuesday, May 7, 2024. (Serbian Presidential Press Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Serbian Presidential Press Service, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, right, welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, and his wife Peng Liyuan during a welcome ceremony upon his arrival at the Nikola Tesla airport in Belgrade, Serbia, Tuesday, May 7, 2024. (Serbian Presidential Press Service via AP)
A man walks in front of a Chinese national flag in Belgrade, Serbia, Tuesday, May 7, 2024. Chinese leader Xi Jinping's visit to European ally Serbia on Tuesday falls on a symbolic date: the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade during NATO's air war over Kosovo. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
People walk in front of a Chinese national flag in Belgrade, Serbia, Tuesday, May 7, 2024. Chinese leader Xi Jinping's visit to European ally Serbia on Tuesday falls on a symbolic date: the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade during NATO's air war over Kosovo. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Cleaners walk in front of a Chinese national flag placed on the building in Belgrade, Serbia, Tuesday, May 7, 2024. Chinese leader Xi Jinping's visit to European ally Serbia on Tuesday falls on a symbolic date: the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade during NATO's air war over Kosovo. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Workers stick a Chinese national flag on a billboard in Belgrade, Serbia, Tuesday, May 7, 2024. Chinese leader Xi Jinping's visit to European ally Serbia on Tuesday falls on a symbolic date: the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade during NATO's air war over Kosovo. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
FILE - Cars move by a billboard showing China's President Xi Jinping, reading: "We want a statue of our friend Xi," and "Thanks," in Belgrade, Serbia, on Aug. 26, 2021. Chinese leader Xi Jinping's visit to European ally Serbia on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, falls on a symbolic date: the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade during NATO's air war over Kosovo. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic, File)
FILE - Workers rest near billboard showing Chinese President Xi Jinping, reading: "Welcome President," right, and billboard reading: "Nobody was hurt in my shift today," in front of the Zelezara Smederevo steel mill, in the city of Smederevo, 45 kilometers east of Belgrade, Serbia, on June 29, 2017. Chinese leader Xi Jinping's visit to European ally Serbia on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, falls on a symbolic date: the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade during NATO's air war over Kosovo. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic, File)
FILE - Workers and officials await the ceremony of the reconstruction of a railway line between Budapest and Belgrade, in Belgrade, Serbia, on Nov. 28, 2017. Reconstruction of a railway line between Budapest and Belgrade, a project financed mainly by China, as a "flagship project" of China's increased presence in the region. Serbia has been a loyal ally that opened its door without restraint to billions of dollars of Chinese investment, despite formally seeking European Union membership. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic, File)
Workers hang on ropes to install a giant Chinese national flag on a skyscraper that is a symbolic gateway leading into the city from the airport, in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, May 4, 2024. Chinese leader Xi Jinping's visit to European ally Serbia on Tuesday falls on a symbolic date: the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade during NATO's air war over Kosovo. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
This photo shows a general view of the Chinese Cultural Center in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, April 29, 2024. Chinese leader Xi Jinping's visit to European ally Serbia on Tuesday, May 7, falls on a symbolic date: the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade during NATO's air war over Kosovo. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
A Chinese flag is placed near flowers on a monument at the site of a former Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, May 4, 2024. Chinese leader Xi Jinping's visit to European ally Serbia on Tuesday falls on a symbolic date: the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade during NATO's air war over Kosovo. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Visitors from China take a bow in front of a black-marble monument and to lay flowers in honor of the victims of the 1999 bombing, in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, May 4, 2024. Chinese leader Xi Jinping's visit to European ally Serbia on Tuesday falls on a symbolic date: the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade during NATO's air war over Kosovo. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Workers hang on ropes to install a giant Chinese national flag on a skyscraper that is a symbolic gateway leading into the city from the airport, in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, May 4, 2024. Chinese leader Xi Jinping's visit to European ally Serbia on Tuesday falls on a symbolic date: the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade during NATO's air war over Kosovo. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Chinese and Serbian flags fly on lampposts, days before the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Chinese leader Xi Jinping's visit to European ally Serbia on Tuesday falls on a symbolic date: the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade during NATO's air war over Kosovo. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
A statue of ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius stands in front of the Chinese Cultural Center in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, April 29, 2024. Chinese leader Xi Jinping's visit to European ally Serbia on Tuesday, May 7, falls on a symbolic date: the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade during NATO's air war over Kosovo. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Chinese flags fly on lampposts, days before the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Chinese leader Xi Jinping's visit to European ally Serbia on Tuesday falls on a symbolic date: the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade during NATO's air war over Kosovo. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Workers hang on ropes to install a giant Chinese national flag on a skyscraper that is a symbolic gateway leading into the city from the airport, in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, May 4, 2024. Chinese leader Xi Jinping's visit to European ally Serbia on Tuesday falls on a symbolic date: the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade during NATO's air war over Kosovo. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
