BEIJING -- President Xi Jinping on Friday sent a message to Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ghazouani, congratulating him on re-election as president of Mauritania.

China and Mauritania enjoy traditional friendship, Xi said, adding that in recent years, under the two leaders' joint guidance, bilateral relations have developed steadily and exchanges and cooperation in various fields have yielded fruitful results.

Xi said he attaches great importance to the development of China-Mauritania relations, and is ready to work with President Ghazouani to push their countries' friendly cooperative relationship to a new level and better benefit the two peoples.