BEIJING, May 12 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday sent a congratulatory message to the Third China-Africa People's Forum, saying the forum would inject fresh vitality into the new type of strategic partnership between the two sides.

In the message, Xi said the forum, as an important institutionalized platform for people-to-people exchanges and cooperation between China and Africa, has played an active, unique role in promoting friendly relations, boosting pragmatic cooperation, and pushing forward world peace.

"In July 2012, I attended the opening ceremony of the Second China-Africa People's Forum in Suzhou in China's Jiangsu province, expressing unequivocal support of the Chinese government for Chinese and African non-governmental groups' active participation in China-Africa friendly cooperation," he said.

This year's forum, under the theme of "Sharing Experience, Deepening Cooperation, Taking Actions -- Chinese and African People's Common Goal for Poverty Reduction," would build closer traditional friendship, deepen the two sides' exchanges and mutual learning in their concept and experience of development, benefit people's well-being, and help Africa realize the Millennium Development Goals, he added.

Xi noted that China and African nations have a common destiny, with their relations featuring sincere friendship, mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, and common development.

"Currently, Africa is at a period of economic take-off, and we're fully confident about Africa's development," the president said. "It is an important cornerstone for China's foreign policy to strengthen solidarity and cooperation with African nations."

China is devoted to boosting the all-around, mutually-beneficial and win-win cooperation with Africa, he said, adding that his country is willing to help the continent improve its ability for self-development and to jointly fulfill their dream for development and revitalization.

"People-to-people friendship is an important basis for the development of state-to-state relations," Xi said.

"I'm convinced that, with concerted efforts from China and Africa, the China-Africa People's Forum will increasingly become a bridge of communication and platform for sharing experience in development between Chinese and African people, and continuously inject fresh vitality into the new type of China-Africa strategic partnership," he added.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also sent a video address to the forum, which opened in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum on Monday.

The first China-Africa People's Forum was held in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2011.