President Xi Jinping and Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam exchanged congratulations on Friday on the 35th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Noting that China and Singapore are friendly neighbors and important cooperation partners, Xi said that over the past 35 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties, the two countries have adhered to mutual respect, mutual trust and win-win cooperation.

The bilateral relationship has continuously improved and been upgraded, with cooperation in various fields yielding fruitful results, Xi said. Furthermore, both sides have also advanced hand in hand in their respective modernization processes, bringing tangible benefits to the peoples of both countries, he added.

China is willing to take the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations as an opportunity to further deepen political mutual trust, promote high-level cooperation, strengthen people-to-people exchanges, and jointly safeguard the multilateral trading system and the basic norms governing international relations, in order to promote the all-around high-quality, future-oriented partnership between China and Singapore — contributing even more to regional and global peace and prosperity, Xi added.

Shanmugaratnam noted that in 2023, Singapore-China relations were elevated to an all-around high-quality, future-oriented partnership, and cooperation between the two governments has continued to advance, constantly integrating new features and demonstrating foresight.

Responding to the demands of the times, both sides have actively expanded cooperation in new areas, while the peoples of the two countries have steadily strengthened cultural ties, Shanmugaratnam said. He expressed his firm belief that the two countries will continue to work closely together, pushing their bilateral relationship to new heights.

Also on Friday, Premier Li Qiang and Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong exchanged congratulatory messages.

Li said that China is ready to further strengthen the alignment of development strategies with Singapore, deepen high-level cooperation across various fields, and work together to uphold the multilateral trading system, in order to contribute to the development of both countries and the prosperity and stability of the region.

Wong said that Singapore-China relations have continued to deepen over the years, with the building of strong mutual trust.

Singapore is willing to continue expanding cooperation with China in various fields and jointly safeguard free trade and the multilateral system, he added.

Luxembourg ties

President Xi also sent a congratulatory message on Friday to Luxembourg's Grand Duke Guillaume on his enthronement.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations more than 50 years ago, the two countries have consistently treated each other with mutual respect and equality, Xi said in the message.

China and Luxembourg have become a model of mutual achievement and win-win cooperation between countries of different sizes, systems and stages of development, he added.

He noted that the two countries have achieved fruitful cooperation in areas such as steel, finance and logistics, and the Zhengzhou-Luxembourg Air Silk Road has contributed to the stability and smooth operation of the China-Europe industrial chain.

Xi emphasized that he attaches great importance to the development of the bilateral relations and is willing to work together with Luxembourg's Grand Duke Guillaume to continuously take the relationship to new heights, better benefiting the peoples of both countries.

Also on Friday, Xi sent a message to Luxembourg's retired Grand Duke Henri, extending greetings and best wishes.

Zhang Yunbi contributed to this story.

Xinhua