BEIJING – China’s President Xi Jinping congratulated Lenin Moreno on his win in the second round of voting in Ecuador’s presidential elections that was held on April 2, official news agency Xinhua reported on Friday.

In his message sent on Wednesday, Xi said China and Ecuador share a deep and traditional friendship, including an increasing number of high-level exchanges in various sectors.

The Chinese leader also recalled that in 2016, both countries strengthened the strategic alliance that began in January 2015.

Xi said he placed a lot of importance on the development of bilateral relations with Ecuador and hoped to work together with Moreno to further deepen them.

With 99.97 percent of the votes counted, Moreno, vice-president of the country between 2007-2013 and candidate of the ruling Country Alliance party, secured 51.14 percent of the votes, while the candidate of the Creating Opportunities movement, got 48.86 percent.