China and Luxembourg have always respected and trusted each other over the past 50 years, becoming a role model of friendly coexistence and mutually beneficial cooperation between large and small countries, President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday.

He made the comment when exchanging congratulatory messages with Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Luxembourg diplomatic relations.

In his message, Xi said that since the establishment of the diplomatic relations 50 years ago, the exchanges and cooperation between the two countries in various fields have yielded fruitful results.

The Zhengzhou-Luxembourg "Air Silk Road" — the international freight route connecting the provincial capital of Central China's Henan province and the European country — has built "a bridge in the air" for China-Europe interconnectivity, he said.

Xi said that he attaches great importance to the development of China-Luxembourg relations, and is willing to work with Grand Duke Henri to take the 50th anniversary as an opportunity to promote the sustained, sound development of the ties so as to benefit the two countries and their peoples.

Grand Duke Henri said that since the establishment of diplomatic relations half a century ago, the two sides have achieved remarkable results in cooperation in various fields such as politics, economy and culture. He added that the friendship between the two peoples has been constantly deepened.

Luxembourg is willing to work with China to advance exchanges, strengthen cooperation and jointly maintain world peace and stability, he said.

Also on Wednesday, Premier Li Keqiang exchanged congratulatory messages with Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel.

Li said China is willing to work with Luxembourg and take the celebration of the 50th anniversary as an opportunity to substantially advance bilateral pragmatic cooperation in various fields and bring China-Luxembourg relations to a new level.

Bettel said that Luxembourg attaches great importance to the development of Luxembourg-China ties, and is willing to work with China to explore new areas of cooperation.