BEIJING -- President Xi Jinping on Sunday sent a congratulatory message on the holding of the 32nd African Union (AU) summit in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.

Calling the AU a banner of unity and strength, Xi said that since last year, under the leadership of AU, African integration process has made significant progress, African countries have continued to speak in one voice on major international and regional issues and Africa's global influence has increasingly grown.

"I warmly congratulate the AU on the progress and sincerely wish that it will continue to unite and lead African countries towards new and greater achievements," Xi said.

Xi stressed that in September last year, the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) was a huge success, during which he joined hands with leaders of the African countries and the AU to draw a blueprint for the development of China-Africa relations.

China is willing to work with Africa to implement the FOCAC Beijing Summit outcomes, promoting the alignment of the joint construction of the Belt and Road with the implementation of the AU Agenda 2063, the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda as well as other development strategies of African countries, Xi said.

By doing so, the two sides will build a closer China-Africa community to contribute more to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, Xi added.