Chinese President Xi Jinping and Colombian President Ivan Duque Marquez on Friday exchanged congratulations on the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the two countries' diplomatic ties.

Noting the good momentum in 40 years' relations between China and Colombia, Xi said he's willing to take the 40th anniversary as a "new starting point" to push China-Colombia ties to a new stage. 

In his message, Duque expressed gratitude towards China for its important contributions to Colombia's economic and social development via their bilateral cooperations.

The two leaders reviewed Duque's state visit to China in late July last year, underscoring the important consensuses they had reached in Beijing. 

During their talks, Xi said China welcomes Colombia to take part in the Belt and Road construction so as to realize the alignment of development strategies of both sides. Duque said he hoped to step up bilateral ties further and expand cooperation in areas including economy and trade, energy, infrastructure construction, connectivity, the digital economy and creative industries.