BEIJING -- President Xi Jinping on Tuesday congratulated Sooronbai Jeenbekov on his election as president of the Kyrgyz Republic.

In a congratulatory message, Xi lauded the remarkable progress in the development of bilateral relations since China and Kyrgyzstan forged diplomatic ties 25 years ago.

China is ready to work with Kyrgyzstan and take the opportunity of co-building the "Belt and Road" to deepen cooperation in various areas such as politics, economy, security and people-to-people exchanges so as to lift the Chinese-Kyrgyz strategic partnership to a higher level and deliver more tangible benefits the two countries and their peoples, said the Chinese president.