BEIJING, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang sent a congratulatory message Friday to Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was sworn in early in the day as prime minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

In the message, Li said that China and Sri Lanka are good, time-tested friends and partners which, in recent years, have deepened cooperation in a variety of areas, bringing concrete benefits to people of the two countries.

He said that the friendly cooperation between China and Sri Lanka is in the fundamental interests of the two countries and is also the common aspiration of their peoples.

The Chinese government attaches great importance to its relations with Sri Lanka and stands ready to work with the Sri Lankan government to promote the advancement of bilateral strategic partnership, Li said.