Buhari and President Xi Jinping in September 2015

President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated the Chinese President Xi Jinping on his re-election as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the leader of the nation.

The President stated this in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, in Abuja on Thursday.

President Buhari expressed his conviction that the success of the 19th National Congress of the CPC and the implementation of its important decisions would serve to fulfil the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

“Your widely acknowledged wise and firm leadership has played a critical role in the changes in China in the past five years and the renewal of your term will no doubt strengthen the unity of CPC and its central, unified leadership and further enhance cohesiveness of the Chinese nation,” he said.

The Nigerian leader expressed belief in the capability of the CPC Leadership and President Xi to take China to a new level and enhance its standing around the globe in the next five years.

He said that his fruitful meetings and frequent communications with President Xi had allowed the two countries to firmly commit to strong economic synergy and cooperative potentials.

The President praised the existing cordial relationship between China and Nigeria on one hand and with Africa as a whole, especially sustaining the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

He wished the re-elected Chinese leader a very successful second tenure.

The CPC, on Oct. 24, at its closing session, had elevated President Xi Jinping’s status by inserting his name and dogma into the party’s constitution alongside past leaders Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, “cementing his status as the most powerful man to head the country in decades.”