BEIJING -- President Xi Jinping said on Thursday he is ready to work with Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam to promote better integration and mutual improvement of the modernization process in China and Singapore.

The remarks were made in his congratulatory message to Tharman Shanmugaratnam on his assuming office as president of Singapore.

Noting that China and Singapore are each other's friendly neighbor and important partner for cooperation, Xi said that with concerted efforts of both sides, China and Singapore have jointly blazed a trail of success featuring mutual learning and win-win cooperation, which gives a strong boost to their respective development and rejuvenation, and also sets an example for cooperation among countries in the region.

This year, China-Singapore relations have been elevated to an all-round high-quality future-oriented partnership, charting the course for the high-level development of bilateral relations in the new era, Xi said.

The Chinese president said that he attaches great importance to the development of China-Singapore relations and is ready to establish a good working relationship with Tharman Shanmugaratnam to bring China-Singapore relations to new levels, promote better integration and mutual improvement of the modernization process, so as to bring more benefits to their people and make greater contributions to regional peace, prosperity and stability.