BEIJING, March 1 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday congratulated Nikos Christodoulides on assuming office as the president of Cyprus.

In his message, Xi said that with a long-lasting friendship and high-level development of strategic partnership, China and Cyprus have been deepening political mutual trust and advancing exchanges and cooperation in various fields.

Xi said he holds in high regard the development of China-Cyprus relations and stands ready to work with President Christodoulides to push for an even more productive China-Cyprus strategic partnership so as to deliver more benefits to the two peoples.