President Xi Jinping sent a message on Saturday to the 38th African Union Summit, extending warm congratulations to African countries and people.

In the face of the current complex and intertwined international situation, the Global South, including China and Africa, has grown significantly, Xi noted.

Over the past year, the AU has united and led African countries in vigorously advancing integration, actively responding to regional and global challenges, and speaking in unison as the "voice of Africa", he said.

Noting that these efforts have led to a continuous boost in Africa's international status and influence, Xi sincerely wished African countries and people even greater success on the path of independence, self-reliance and development.

Xi said the year 2024 saw vigorous development of China-Africa ties.

With the successful Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, China and Africa have embarked on a new stage of jointly building an all-weather community with a shared future for the new era, and stayed at the forefront of building a community with a shared future for mankind, he noted.

Xi expressed readiness to work with African leaders to implement the six proposals for jointly advancing modernization and 10 partnership actions put forth by Xi at the FOCAC summit, in order to bring more tangible results to benefit over 2.8 billion Chinese and African people.