BEIJING -- President Xi Jinping and Belgium's King Philippe on Monday exchanged congratulatory messages on the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties.

In his message, Xi said he attaches great importance to the development of China-Belgium relations and stands ready to work with King Philippe to take the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties as an opportunity to push for new achievements in China-Belgium relations and make new contributions to the development of China-Europe relations.

Xi pointed out that since China and Belgium established diplomatic ties, their relations have been developing constantly on the basis of mutual respect and mutual benefit.

Xi recalled that in 2014, he and King Philippe upgraded the China-Belgium relationship to an all-round friendly cooperative partnership, adding that fruitful results have yielded in bilateral exchanges and cooperation across the board.

After the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two peoples helped each other and continued to write a new chapter of China-Belgium friendship, Xi said.