BEIJING -- President Xi Jinping on Wednesday extended congratulations to Lee Jae-myung on his election as president of South Korea.

Noting that China and South Korea are each other's important close neighbors and partners for cooperation, Xi said since the establishment of diplomatic relations 33 years ago, the two sides have transcended differences in ideology and social systems, moved forward hand in hand and achieved mutual success, realizing a stable and healthy development of bilateral relations.

This has not only enhanced the well-being of the people of the two countries, but also made positive contributions to promoting regional peace, stability, development and prosperity, Xi added.

The Chinese president stressed that he attaches great importance to the development of China-South Korea relations.

In the world today, changes rarely seen in a century are unfolding at an accelerating pace and destabilizing factors in international and regional situations are increasing, Xi noted.

Both important countries in the world and region, China stands ready to work with South Korea to stay committed to the spirit that guided the establishment of their diplomatic ties, uphold good-neighborliness and friendship, and stick to the goal of mutual benefit and win-win results so as to jointly promote the continuous development of the China-South Korea strategic cooperative partnership, and bring more benefits to the two peoples, he said.