Xi greets Tshisekedi on reelection

President Xi Jinping on Wednesday congratulated Felix Tshisekedi on his reelection as the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo and vowed to work with Tshisekedi to push for the greater development of bilateral cooperation.

Xi said the DRC is a traditional friend and comprehensive strategic cooperative partner of China. In recent years, relations between the two countries have developed rapidly with fruitful results being achieved in pragmatic cooperation and their traditional friendship being constantly deepened, he said.

Xi said he is willing to join hands with Tshisekedi to deepen political mutual trust, enrich the two countries' comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership established in 2023 and achieve greater progress in China-DRC cooperation.

The Constitutional Court of the DRC approved on Tuesday Tshisekedi's election for a second term following the polls on Dec 20, saying that he won 73.47 percent of the vote. The president-elect is scheduled to be sworn in on Saturday.

The election was significant as it marked the second peaceful transfer of power in the country's history since its independence from Belgium in 1960.

In 2018, Tshisekedi ascended to power after winning the election, marking the country's first peaceful transfer of power since its independence.

Xinhua contributed to the story.