Xi extends congratulations to North Macedonia, Chad

President Xi Jinping has vowed to work with Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, North Macedonia's first female president, to jointly promote the development of bilateral relations, as he extended congratulations on her assuming office.

In his message, Xi said that China and the Balkan nation enjoy a profound traditional friendship and the practical cooperation between the two countries has made solid progress in recent years, with the results benefiting their peoples.

Noting that he highly regards the development of bilateral relations, Xi said he is ready to work with Siljanovska-Davkova to deepen political mutual trust and expand exchanges and cooperation, in order to lift China-North Macedonia friendly cooperative relations to a new level.

Siljanovska-Davkova, who turned 71 on Saturday, was elected president after securing a second-round poll victory with 65 percent of the votes.

China is North Macedonia's fourth-largest trading partner and its fourth-largest source of imports. Last year, bilateral trade exceeded $1.19 billion, a year-on-year increase of 13.7 percent, official statistics showed.

In another development, Xi also congratulated Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno on his election as president of the Republic of Chad.

Xi said in his message on Monday that in recent years, China-Chad relations have maintained a positive momentum of growth, with their political mutual trust continuously deepened, cooperation steadily advanced in various fields, and international collaboration becoming closer.

The president said he attaches great importance to China's relations with the Central African country and is willing to work with the president-elect to strengthen mutual support and promote friendly cooperation, so as to better benefit the two peoples.

Deby, Chad's interim president, was declared the winner of the presidential election, according to official results announced by the country's Constitutional Council on Thursday.

The 40-year-old former army general assumed power after his father, Idriss Deby Itno, died from wounds sustained on the front line in the country's north in April 2021. He has since led a transitional government tasked with governing the Central African country amid political and military crises.