Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message Tuesday to Zoran Milanovic on assuming office as president of Croatia.

In the message, Xi said with mutual political trust, China and Croatia have reached fruitful cooperation results under the Belt and Road Initiative and China- CEEC (Central and Eastern European Countries) framework.

Croatia, holder of the rotating EU presidency, is a good friend of China in the EU, he added.

"I attach great importance to the development of China-Croatia relations and would like to work with President Milanovic to deepen bilateral friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation and make new contributions to China-CEEC cooperation and the development of China-EU relations," Xi said in the message.