BEIJING, Feb. 22 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and his counterpart from the Republic of Congo Denis Sassou N'Guesso exchanged congratulatory messages Saturday to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two nations.

In his message, Xi said a new epoch for the bilateral ties was opened up as the two nations established diplomatic relations 50 years ago, and that relationship has reached a new historic high and presented a favorable situation after decades of accumulation and development since then.

The friendship and cooperation between the Chinese and Congolese peoples conformed with the overall trend of the times, providing a strong support for realizing each other's national dream of revitalization, and becoming an epitome of the shared destiny of China and Africa as well, he said.

China is ready to work with the Republic of Congo to further enrich the content of their friendly cooperation, steer the bilateral ties toward a more comprehensive and in-depth development course, and bring more benefit to the two countries and peoples, he said.

Xi paid a state visit to the Republic of Congo last March and reached a series of important consensus with the latter, including building a comprehensive cooperative partnership of solidarity and mutual assistance between the two sides.

For his part, Sassou said the relationship between the Republic of Congo and China has become a role model for the South-South cooperation over the past half century.

In recent years, the bilateral cooperation, pushed by the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), has helped improve the living conditions of the Congolese people and brought real changes to all areas in the Republic of Congo, Sassou said.

He also pledged to consolidate, deepen and promote the partnership between the two countries and benefit the two peoples.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Congolese counterpart Basile Ikouebe also exchanged congratulations on the occasion.