Chinese Premier Li Qiang attends the Virtual G20 Leaders' Summit and delivers a speech at the meeting, in Beijing, capital of China, Nov 22, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BEIJING — Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Monday sent a congratulatory message to Christopher Luxon on his taking office as prime minister of New Zealand.

China and New Zealand are each other's important partners. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties more than 50 years ago, the China-New Zealand relationship has long been at the forefront of China's relations with Western countries, Li said in the message.

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The two countries have jointly created many "firsts" and yielded fruitful results in many fields of practical cooperation, bringing tangible benefits to their people, Li added.

The Chinese government highly values China-New Zealand relations, he noted, adding that he stands ready to work with the new government led by Luxon to maintain high-level exchanges, strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation and enhance friendly communication, so as to push for new progress in China-New Zealand comprehensive strategic partnership and greater benefits for their people.