BEIJING - President Xi Jinping on Sunday sent a congratulatory message to Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on his election as the president of Maldives.

In his message, Xi said China and Maldives share a longstanding friendship, and China is committed to developing relations with Maldives on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence.

China is willing to work with Maldives to continue to cement their friendship and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields to better benefit the people of both countries.

Xi said he highly values the development of China-Maldives relations and is willing to join hands with Solih to lift the comprehensive friendly cooperative partnership between China and Maldives to a new level.