Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the first China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE), which opened on Thursday in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province.

Xi pointed out that China and Africa are "good friends, good partners and good brothers," adding that practical cooperation between the two sides on the basis of equality and mutual benefit has achieved remarkable results, benefiting the two peoples.

CAETE, proposed by Xi at the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), aims to build a platform for both sides to deepen economic and trade cooperation.

Xi hopes China and Africa jointly strengthen their synergy on the implementation of the eight major initiatives reached during the Beijing summit, actively explore new paths and new driving forces for cooperation, and promote China-Africa economic and trade cooperation to a new level.