TO MARK the occasion of the 40th anniversary of independence, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang and Foreign Minister Wang Yi all sent messages of congratulations to their counterparts – Governor General Sir Arthur Foulkes, Prime Minister Perry Christie and Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell.

They conveyed the Chinese peoples’ congratulations and best wishes along with their personal wishes to the government and people of the Bahamas.

President Xi said in his message to Governor-General Sir Arthur Foulkes: “On the occasion of the 40th Anniversary of the Independence of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, I have the honour, on behalf of the Chinese people and in my own name, to extend our warm congratulations and best wishes to Your Excellency and through you to the people of the Bahamas.

“The China-Bahamas relations have developed rapidly over the years, with mutual political trust strengthened, co-operation in all aspects increasingly deepened and friendship between the two peoples enhanced.

“China attaches great importance to the relations with the Bahamas and stands ready to work with the Bahamas to keep the trend of high-level exchange of visits, solidly promote practical co-operation and push the China-Bahamas relations continuously forward.”

President Xi also expressed good wishes for the Bahamas and its people, saying: “May the Bahamas be prosperous and its people happy and healthy”.

He also expressed his wish that the friendship tree of China and the Bahamas will grow everlastingly.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang sent his message to Prime Minister Christie, noting that the government and people of the Bahamas, over the 40 years since independence, have achieved great success in promoting economic growth, improving people’s well-being and actively participating in international and regional affairs.

Premier Li congratulated the Bahamas and its people on all these achievements and expressed his wish that the Bahamas achieve even greater success in the cause of nation building.

Li also mentioned the new development opportunity China and the Bahamas are presently facing, saying: “China stands ready to work closely with the Bahamas to further consolidate mutual political trust, explore co-operation potentiality and promote deepening development of China-Bahamas relations”.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi sent his warm congratulations and best wishes to Minister Mitchell, expressing his wish to continue strengthening the friendly 
exchange and co-operation between Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the two countries.