BEIJING -- President Xi Jinping on Wednesday met with Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, president of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, who is in Beijing for the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

Xi stressed that China and Equatorial Guinea are good friends, with bilateral relations featuring high-level political mutual trust, all-round pragmatic cooperation and profound people-to-people friendship.

China will work with Equatorial Guinea to firmly support each other, expand practical cooperation, deepen cooperation in defense and security, help facilitate the diversified development of Equatorial Guinea's economy, and open up new prospects for the comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation between the two countries, he said.

Xi expressed congratulations to Equatorial Guinea as it will serve as co-chair of FOCAC from 2027 to 2030, and noted that the 2024 summit is committed to drawing up a new blueprint for China-Africa cooperation and marks a new milestone in the history of China-Africa relations.

Obiang said that based on profound friendship and mutual trust, the two countries have achieved fruitful outcomes in cooperation and maintained close coordination in international affairs.

Hailing China's contribution to world peace, Obiang said Equatorial Guinea is willing to further strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation with China.