On Tuesday, President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to Jose Ramos-Horta on his election as President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste.

Xi Jinping pointed out, over the past 20 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Timor-Leste, pragmatic cooperation between the two countries has deepened and bilateral relations have made substantial progress.

Chinese President attached great importance to the development of China-Timor-Leste relations and said that he is ready to work with President Horta to bring the partnership to a new level.

In the second round of the presidential election of Timor-Leste, held on April 19th, Jose Ramos-Horta was elected for the second time as President with 62.09% of the vote, defeating the current Timorese president, Francisco Guterres Lú-Olo. José Ramos-Horta will take office on May 20, the 20th anniversary of East Timor’s restoration of independence.