Chinese President Xi Jinping has called on China and Jamaica to deepen cooperation in all fields and jointly build the Belt and Road, so as to bring bilateral ties to a new level as the two countries celebrated the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations on Monday.

As he exchanged congratulations with Jamaican Governor-General Patrick Allen on the 50th anniversary, Xi said Jamaica was one of the first English-speaking Caribbean countries that established ties with China.

Over the past five decades, the China-Jamaica relationship has maintained good momentum, with deepening political mutual trust, fruitful results in practical cooperation and the ever-growing friendship between their peoples, Xi said.

In face of the COVID-19 pandemic, China and Jamaica have assisted each other amid difficulties, which injected new impetus into the friendly cooperation between the two countries, he said.

Xi said he highly values developing bilateral relations and is ready to work with Allen to jointly build a China-Jamaica community with a shared future in the new era.

Allen said it is encouraging that Jamaica and China have maintained a friendly relationship that continues developing, with remarkable achievements being made in various fields.

Jamaica is willing to keep strengthening cooperation with China and to further deepen their strategic partnership, he added.

Also on Monday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang exchanged congratulations with Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

Calling Jamaica an important partner of China in the Caribbean region, Li said the Chinese side is ready to work with the Jamaican side to push the two countries toward a deeper and richer strategic partnership so as to better benefit the two peoples.

Holness said his country highly commends the precious support from China for Jamaica's economic growth and social development, and will continue to be committed to boosting bilateral cooperation.

Last year, two-way trade volume between China and Jamaica reached $820 million, with a year-on-year increase of 23.2 percent, according to China's Ministry of Commerce.

Over the past 50 years, accumulated investment from Chinese enterprises in Jamaica has exceeded $2.1 billion, directly creating more than 35,000 jobs.

China has also provided scholarships for hundreds of Jamaican students and offered short-term training programs for nearly 3,000 Jamaican people, the ministry said.

mojingxi@chinadaily.com.cn