BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and King of Spain Felipe VI on Thursday exchanged congratulations on the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between their countries.

In his message, Xi pointed out that over the past half century, the two sides have deepened their friendship, promoted cooperation, and established and developed a comprehensive strategic partnership in the spirit of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, bringing tangible benefits to the people of the two countries.

Xi stressed that he attaches great importance to the development of China-Spain relations, and is ready to work with King Felipe VI to take the 50th anniversary as a new starting point to consolidate political mutual trust, expand mutually beneficial cooperation and enhance people-to-people bonding, so as to jointly write a new chapter of China-Spain friendly cooperation.

Felipe VI said that over the past 50 years, Spain-China relations have been developing steadily and smoothly, with bilateral cooperation in various fields advanced continuously and the friendship between the two peoples ever deepening.

He expressed the confidence that the two countries will take the opportunity of celebrating the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic ties to comprehensively expand friendly exchanges and practical cooperation, and join hands to tackle global challenges such as climate change.