BEIJING, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said Monday that he highly values the unique friendship between China and Cuba and stands ready to help make the two countries good friends, good comrades and good brothers forever.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks in congratulatory messages exchanged with Raul Castro Ruz, first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba Central Committee, and Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel to celebrate the 60th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations.

In his message to Castro, Xi noted that Cuba is the first Latin American country to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China and that bilateral ties have over the past 60 years withstood the vicissitudes of the international situation and grown ever stronger.

Political mutual trust between China and Cuba has been continuously deepened and bilateral practical cooperation has yielded fruitful results, Xi said, adding that the two countries have stood together and joined hands to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, which has raised their traditional friendship to a higher level.

Stressing that he highly values the unique China-Cuba friendship, Xi said he is willing to maintain close communication with Castro and take the 60th anniversary as an opportunity to help the two countries stay as good friends, good comrades and good brothers forever.

In his congratulatory message to Diaz-Canel, Xi said that since the two countries established diplomatic ties 60 years ago, China and Cuba have forged a profound friendship with mutual understanding, mutual trust and mutual support.

In recent years, China-Cuba friendly cooperation has been deepening in an all-round way, including active collaboration under the Belt and Road Initiative, which has brought concrete benefits to the people of both countries, Xi noted.

In the fight against the coronavirus disease, China and Cuba have stood together and helped each other, writing a new chapter in the friendship between the two peoples, Xi added.

He said he attaches great importance to the development of China-Cuba relations, and stands ready to work with Diaz-Canel to continuously deepen political mutual trust and expand practical cooperation in various fields, so as to create more benefits for both countries and their people.

For his part, Castro said in the message that Cuba is the first Latin American country to establish diplomatic relations with China and has always maintained sincere friendship with brotherly China, the Communist Party of China and the Chinese people.

Cuba thanks China for its firm support and is fully convinced that the 60-year-old friendship between Cuba and China will be passed down from generation to generation and last forever, he added.

Diaz-Canel said in his congratulatory message that the close friendship between the two countries has withstood the test of time and both sides have always appreciated each other's achievements in socialist construction as their own.

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, Diaz-Canel said, both Cuba and China have been committed to unity and cooperation, pooling resources to save lives, taking scientific prevention and control measures, and undertaking international cooperation.

Cuba is willing to continuously consolidate the traditional friendship between the two countries and expand bilateral cooperation in various fields, said the Cuban president.

On the same day, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang exchanged congratulatory messages with his Cuban counterpart Manuel Marrero.

Li said in the message that over the past six decades, China-Cuba relations have enjoyed rapid development and bilateral cooperation has been moving forward in various fields, bringing not only benefits to both countries and their people, but also positive effects to the development of China-Latin America relations.

The two countries have shared weal and woe and supported each other in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, further deepening their traditional friendship, Li added.

China, Li said, attaches great importance to its relations with Cuba, and stands ready to work with Cuba to continuously carry forward the friendly tradition between the two countries, consolidate political mutual trust, and expand bilateral win-win cooperation and consequent results.

He said that China will work with Cuba to build the Belt and Road and push forward anti-pandemic cooperation between the two sides, so as to promote China-Cuba relations in the new era to sound and sustainable development and continuously raise their ties to new levels.

For Marrero's part, he expressed his warmest congratulations to China on behalf of the Cuban government and people, adding that Cuba stands ready to deepen economic and trade cooperation with China and bring it to a higher level.