President Xi Jinping extended congratulations on Friday to Paul Biya on his re-election as president of Cameroon, and vowed to strengthen the partnership between the two countries.

In his congratulatory message to Biya, Xi pointed out that China and Cameroon enjoy a traditional friendship.

In recent years, the two countries have continuously deepened their political mutual trust, achieved fruitful results in cooperation across various fields, and firmly supported each other on issues concerning their respective core interests and major concerns, he noted.

Looking ahead, Xi emphasized that next year marks the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, which will open up new opportunities for the development of bilateral ties.

Xi said that he highly values the development of China-Cameroon relations and stands ready to work with Biya to take the implementation of the outcomes of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Beijing Summit as an opportunity to further advance the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, bringing greater benefits to the peoples of both nations.

According to earlier announcements, the Constitutional Council of Cameroon confirmed that Biya was re-elected as president of the Central African nation, after he secured 53.66 percent of the votes in last month's presidential election.

Biya, 92, was sworn in on Thursday for his eighth term as Cameroon's president. He first took office in 1982.

jihaisheng@chinadaily.com.cn