BEIJING - Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and his Tongan counterpart, Siale'ataonga Tu'ivakano, exchanged congratulatory messages Saturday to mark the 15th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

In his message, Li said China-Tonga relations have maintained momentum in the past 15 years, with mutual political respect and trust, win-win pragmatic economic cooperation and mutual support in multilateral affairs.

The friendly relationship between China and Tonga has not only brought benefits to the two peoples, but also promoted stability and development in the Pacific islands, Li said.

China attaches importance to relations with Tonga and is willing to work with Tonga to further bilateral ties and bring more benefits to the two peoples, Li said.

For his part, Tu'ivakano said the two governments have established a sincere and friendly relationship since they forged diplomatic ties 15 years ago. Bilateral cooperation has yielded fruits and mutual understanding has been deepened, he said.

Tu'ivakano expressed the belief that the friendly and cooperative relations between Tonga and China will be consolidated in the future.