President Xi Jinping has sent a message to Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr to congratulate him on his landslide victory in the Philippine presidential election, saying that he is willing to work with Marcos to further the bilateral comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

Xi said in the message on Wednesday that both China and the Philippines are at a critical stage of development, and bilateral ties face important opportunities and enjoy broad prospects.

The two nations, as neighbors facing each other across the sea and partners through thick and thin, have seen their relations consolidated and lifted to a higher level in recent years, which benefited the two peoples and contributed to regional peace and stability, he said.

The president said he gives high priority to relations with the Philippines, and is willing to develop a good working relationship with Marcos in upholding good neighborliness and joint development and bringing more benefits to both sides and the two peoples.

Vice-President Wang Qishan also sent a message to Sara Zimmerman Duterte-Carpio, the 43-year-old daughter of outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte, to congratulate her on her election as vice-president of the Philippines.

Last year, Marcos, the son of former president Ferdinand Marcos, told local media that China and the Philippines are neighbors and consolidating the good-neighborly friendship between the two countries is for the people's benefit.

China was the Philippines' largest trading partner and source of imports and its second-largest export market last year, with bilateral trade reaching $38.3 billion, up 24.9 percent year-on-year.

Ties with Slovenia

Xi also exchanged messages with Slovenian President Borut Pahor on Thursday to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties.

He noted that both sides have respected each other and treated each other as equals over the past 30 years, with win-win cooperation securing positive outcomes and people-to-people exchanges becoming increasingly active, bringing tangible benefits to the peoples of both nations.

Xi said he is willing to work with Pahor to use the 30th anniversary as a new starting point, seize the historic opportunity from the joint building of the Belt and Road, step up alignment in development strategies, deepen pragmatic cooperation and give new impetus to bilateral ties.

Pahor said that Slovenia, as a member of the European Union, supports the growth of relations between the EU and China and remains committed to enabling the outcomes of cooperation to benefit both sides and the international community.