BEIJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping exchanged congratulatory messages on Saturday with his Albanian counterpart, Ilir Meta, on the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the two countries' diplomatic ties.

In his message, Xi said that over the 70 years since the establishment of ties, the traditional friendship between China and Albania has remained strong despite transformations of the international landscape.

In recent years, bilateral ties have achieved new and rapid development, Xi said, noting that the two countries have seen solid political mutual trust, fruitful exchanges and cooperation in various fields, and growing support for their friendship.

Under the new circumstances, cooperation between China and Albania faces fine opportunities and broad prospects, Xi said.

The Chinese president said he attaches great importance to the development of China-Albania ties, and is ready to work with Meta to take the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties as an opportunity to push forward the two countries' joint construction of the Belt and Road and constantly lift bilateral ties to new heights, so as to benefit the two countries and their people.

Meta, in his message, spoke highly of the positive progress made in the friendly ties between Albania and China in the past seven decades.

The Belt and Road Initiative proposed by President Xi and the cooperation mechanism between China and Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) in recent years will open up new prospects for Albania-China relations, Meta said.

He proposed joint efforts to make 2019 a year that can see higher levels of mutually beneficial cooperation between Albania and China, and closer bonds between the two peoples.

On the same day, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama also exchanged congratulatory messages.

Li said China is willing to work with the Albanian side to make the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties as a new starting point, carry forward the traditional friendship, and enhance coordination within such multilateral mechanisms as the China-CEEC cooperation, so as to make greater achievements in China-Albania relations and the China-CEEC cooperation.

Rama expressed sincere appreciation for the support and help China has provided in the past decades, saying that the Albanian side is ready to further promote the development of Albania-China ties and the two countries' mutually beneficial cooperation.