President emphasizes ties with Timor-Leste

President Xi Jinping congratulated Jose Ramos-Horta on May

3 on his election as president of Timor-Leste, saying that he is willing to work with Ramos-Horta to boost bilateral ties.

In a message to the presidentelect, Xi said that since the two countries established diplomatic ties 20 years ago, China and Timor-Leste have deepened their pragmatic cooperation with their ties developing significantly.

The two countries have become a vivid example of a big and a small country treating each other as equals and developing win-win cooperation, he said.

Noting that he considers developing ties between China and TimorLeste of great importance, Xi said he is willing to work with Ramos-Horta to advance to a new stage in the two countries’ comprehensive cooperative partnership.

Ramos-Horta, 72, scored a landslide victory in the presidential election, held on April 19, in which he was elected for a second time.

China was the first country to establish diplomatic ties with TimorLeste after it declared independence in 2002.