Chinese President Xi Jinping and Jamaican Governor-General Sir Patrick Allen have exchanged congratulatory messages with each other in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries earlier today (November 21).

“Jamaica was among the first countries in the English-speaking Caribbean to establish diplomatic relations with China,” said the Chinese president.

“In the past 50 years, China-Jamaica ties have always maintained a good momentum of development, with the two sides deepening political mutual trust, achieving fruitful results in practical cooperation and increasing friendship between their people,” he continued.

Xi said: “In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, China and Jamaica have been helping each other and jointly fighting the coronavirus, injecting fresh impetus into the friendly cooperation between the two countries.”

He highlighted that he attaches great importance to the development of China-Jamaica relations, and is ready to work with Allen, taking the 50th anniversary as a new starting point, to deepen cooperation in various fields, promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, jointly lead China-Jamaica strategic partnership to a new level, and work together to build a China-Jamaica community of a shared future in the new era.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang also exchanged congratulatory messages with one another.

Holness mentioned that Jamaica highly appreciates China’s valuable support for its economic growth and social development and that Jamaica stands ready to continue to strengthen cooperation with China.

“Jamaica is an important cooperative partner of China in the Caribbean region,” said Li, who further added that China is ready to work with Jamaica to deepen and cement the strategic partnership.