Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday sent a congratulatory message to William Samoei Ruto on his election as Kenyan president. 

Xi said China and Kenya enjoy a time-honored friendship and that their cooperation in various fields has yielded fruitful results in recent years. 

Noting that he attaches great importance to the development of China-Kenya relations, Xi said he is willing to work with Ruto to push forward the development of the China-Kenya comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership to benefit the two countries and peoples. 

Ruto was declared the winner of the presidential election in August and will be sworn in as Kenya's fifth president on September 13.