BEIJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping has congratulated on the launch of the "Visit China Year" in India, while extending sincere greetings to the Indian people.

The Chinese and Indian peoples enjoy a long-standing friendship, Xi said in a letter of congratulation sent to the opening ceremony of the "Visit China Year" held Thursday night in New Delhi, India.

The two peoples learn from each other and set a model for cross-cultural communication, playing an important role for the progress of human civilization, Xi said.

China and India have remarkable complementary advantages and significant potential for cooperation in various fields, Xi said.

Both countries should foster traditional friendship, strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation, expand people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and make new contributions to world peace and development, he said.

Xi noted that the launches of "Visit India Year" in China in 2015 and "Visit China Year" in India in 2016 were jointly decided by him and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he visited India in 2014. The "Visit India Year" in China in 2015 was very successful, Xi said.

The Chinese president hoped that the two sides will make further efforts and take the opportunity of the "Visit China Year" in India to expand cultural and people-to-people exchanges and inject more dynamism into the building of a closer partnership for development between the two countries.