BEIJING, April 27 -- China on Monday congratulated Nursultan Nazarbayev on his re-election as Kazakhstani president.

Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to President Nazarbayev, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei at a regular press briefing.

Preliminary results announced by Kazakhstan's Central Election Commission showed that incumbent President Nazarbayev won more than 97.7 percent of the votes in the presidential election, granting him another five years in office.

"China respects the Kazakhstani people's choice and supports Kazakhstan in choosing a development path in accordance with its national conditions," Hong said.

"We believe Kazakhstan will maintain political stability and economic growth and play a greater role in global affairs," he said.

China is ready to work closely with Kazakhstan to implement the consensus reached between state leaders while boosting ties to a new level, the spokesman added.

Nazarbayev is the first, and so far the only, president of Kazakhstan since the country's independence in 1991. He has maintained a support rate of more than 90 percent in all previous elections.