BEIJING - President Xi Jinping exchanged congratulatory messages on Sunday with his Ghanaian counterpart, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on the 60th anniversary of the establishment of China-Ghana diplomatic relations.

In his message, Xi noted that since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties 60 years ago, the traditional friendship between China and Ghana has grown stronger with practical cooperation yielding fruitful results.

China-Ghana relations have shown a sound momentum for all-round development in recent years, bringing tangible benefits to both peoples, Xi said.

Since the COVID-19 epidemic broke out, Xi said, China and African countries, including Ghana, have stood by each other in a joint fight against the disease, which demonstrates the brotherly friendship between China and Africa who share weal and woe.

Stressing that he attaches great importance to the development of bilateral ties, Xi said he stands ready to work with Akufo-Addo to take the 60th anniversary as an opportunity to carry forward traditional friendship, deepen cooperation in various fields under the joint construction of the Belt and Road and within the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, so as to benefit the two countries and their peoples, and contribute to the building of a closer China-Africa community with a shared future.

For his part, Akufo-Addo noted that the older generation of leaders from both sides, including late Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah, late Chinese Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai, jointly initiated and nurtured the friendly relations between Ghana and China.

Over the past 60 years, the two countries have maintained close high-level exchanges, achieved remarkable results in cooperation in various fields and worked together to build a peaceful, just and equitable international order, he said.

Noting that Xi has shown extraordinary leadership in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Akufo-Addo said that China has won worldwide acclaim for its assistance and support to countries around the world, including Ghana, in the anti-virus fight.

Ghana, he added, firmly supports the efforts to battle the COVID-19 pandemic through international solidarity and cooperation.

Akufo-Addo also expressed his readiness to work with Xi to consolidate the traditional friendship, strengthen strategic coordination and deepen bilateral cooperation.