Chinese President Xi Jinping and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Tuesday exchanged congratulatory messages to mark the 50th anniversary of the two countries' diplomatic relations.

In his message, Xi pointed out that over the past 50 years, China and Germany have continued to promote their relations in the spirit of mutual respect, mutual benefit and win-win results, strived to make positive contributions to global peace and development and written a chapter of walking hand in hand and helping each other succeed.

The Chinese president stressed he attaches great importance to the development of China-Germany relations, and stands ready to work with President Steinmeier to take the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations as an opportunity to elevate bilateral all-round strategic partnership to a new level for the benefits of the two countries and their people.

For his part, Steinmeier said that over the past 50 years, German-Chinese relations have achieved ever-deeper development in many fields, which enhanced bilateral exchanges and the well-being of the people of both countries.

Noting China is Germany's largest trading partner, the German president said bilateral economic and trade cooperation serves the interests of both countries.

He wished the two countries prosperous development in bilateral cooperation.