President Xi Jinping congratulated Asif Ali Zardari on his election as president of Pakistan on Sunday, highlighting his readiness to work with Zardari in carrying forward the traditional bilateral friendship and advancing pragmatic cooperation in various sectors.

Xi pointed out in his message that the two nations are good neighbors, friends and partners, saying that the ironclad friendship shared by the two countries is a choice of history and a precious treasure of the two peoples.

Zardari, 68, was elected on Saturday by Pakistani lawmakers to a second term with an overwhelming majority. He previously held the job between 2008 and 2013 and will replace Arif Alvi, the outgoing president.

The Chinese president noted that the two countries have maintained close high-level exchanges in recent years, with both nations supporting each other on issues concerning their respective core interests and major concerns, achieving fruitful results in the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, and maintaining a high level of development in bilateral relations.

With the world facing accelerated changes unseen in a century, the strategic significance of ties between Beijing and Islamabad has become even more prominent, he said.

Xi reaffirmed his strong emphasis on ties with Pakistan, saying that he is willing to work with Zardari to push for greater development of the China-Pakistan all-weather strategic cooperative partnership and accelerate the building of an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era so as to deliver greater benefits to the two peoples.

The message to Zardari comes a week after Xi extended a message to congratulate Shehbaz Sharif on his election as Pakistan's prime minister, another gesture that underscored the ironclad ties between the two countries.

China has remained Pakistan's largest trading partner, its largest source of imports and the second-largest export destination for eight consecutive years since fiscal year 2015, according to the Foreign Ministry.