President Xi Jinping on Friday pledged to work with his Cameroonian counterpart Paul Biya to enhance joint efforts to build the Belt and Road in order to benefit the two countries and peoples.

Xi made the remark when exchanging congratulations with Biya on the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Cameroon.

In his message, Xi said that over the past 50 years, China and Cameroon have been standing side by side through thick and thin, and the traditional friendship between the two countries has grown stronger with time.

In recent years, the friendly cooperative relations have enjoyed a strong momentum of development with deepening political mutual trust and fruitful results in practical cooperation, Xi said.

He said that the two countries have understood and supported each other on issues concerning each other's core interests and major concerns, and have carried out close coordination on international and regional affairs.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, China has been working with Cameroon and other African countries to help and support each other in fighting the virus, which demonstrated the brotherly friendship between China and Africa, Xi said.

The president emphasized that he highly values developing China's relations with Cameroon.

He said he stands ready to work with Biya to take the opportunity of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties to implement the outcomes of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and make positive contributions to forging a closer China-Africa community with a shared future.

Biya said in his message that the results of bilateral cooperation have greatly contributed to improving the Cameroonian people's well-being and his country's modernization process.

He noted that China has become an important force on the international stage and it is encouraging that China always values South-South cooperation and supports African countries in achieving development and revitalization.