Chinese President Jiang Zemin on December 18 congratulated Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on his reelection to the chair of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU- PF).

Jiang, who is also General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, expressed in a message to Mugabe the wish that the Republic of Zimbabwe prospers and the Zimbabwean people enjoy happiness under the leadership of the ZANU-PF.

Jiang hopes that the friendly cooperative relations between the two parties, two countries and the two peoples of China and Zimbabwe will be constantly strengthened and developed.

Mugabe was reelected President of the ZANU-PF at the party's third National Congress in Harare Saturday.

The Chinese Communist Party has sent a delegation to attend the ongoing Zanu National Congress. China has offered strong support for ZANU and Zimbabwe in the country's independence and construction of the nation.

The ZANU-PF has been in power in the southern African country since its independence in 1980 under the leadership of President Mugabe.

The party, which was formed in 1963, now has two million members in the country with a population of 11.9 million.