Xi congratulates Moon Jae-in on election as S Korean president

Moon Jae-in of the liberal Minjoo Party waves during a celebration event in Seoul, South Korea, on May 9, 2017. (Xinhua/Yao Qilin)

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday congratulated Moon Jae-in on his election as South Korean president.

In his congratulatory message, Xi said that China and South Korea are important neighbors. Since the establishment of their diplomatic ties 25 years ago, bilateral relations have enjoyed in-depth development at all levels thanks to the joint efforts of the two sides.

Bilateral exchanges and cooperation in various fields have yielded remarkable results and concrete benefits to the two peoples, as well as positive contributions to regional peace and development, he said.

China attaches great importance to its relations with South Korea and is willing to work with South Korea to jointly safeguard the hard-earned achievements in bilateral relations, Xi stressed.

On the basis of mutual understanding and mutual respect, China is committed to cementing political mutual trust, properly handling differences and enhancing coordination and cooperation, so as to push for the healthy and stable development of bilateral ties, he added.

"I would like to work with you to ensure the development of Sino-South Korean ties better benefits the two countries and peoples," Xi said.

Moon won a landslide victory in the presidential by-election on Tuesday, according to the final results released by South Korea's National Election Commission on Wednesday.

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Moon Jae-in wins S Korean presidential election

Liberal Moon Jae-in won the South Korean presidential by-election as he gained votes enough to confirm victory, vote count results showed Wednesday.

With 91.3 percent of votes counted as of 3:07 a.m. local time (1807 GMT Tuesday), Moon garnered 40.5 percent, according to the national election commission.