Chinese president's envoy attends crowning ceremony of Tongan king

Chinese President Xi Jinping's special envoy, head of the China National Tourism Administration Li Jinzao has attended the crowning ceremony of King Tupou VI in the Tongan capital of Nuku'alofa and met with the king and the queen.

Conveying President Xi's sincere congratulations to King Tupou VI and Queen Nanasipau'u, Li said that China attaches great importance to developing bilateral relations with Tonga, and is willing to make concerted efforts with Tonga in strengthening exchanges and cooperation in order to promote the bilateral ties.

King Tupou VI expressed his heartfelt gratitude to President Xi for sending his special envoy to the coronation and asked Li to convey his well wishes to President Xi.

Tonga values Tonga-China friendship, steadfastly adheres to the one-China policy, and is sincerely thankful to China for its long- term assistance to Tonga's economic and social development, King Tupou VI said, adding that Tonga is ready to further deepen cooperation with China in economy and trade, culture, tourism and other fields so that the bilateral relations can reach a new stage.