BEIJING, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday sent a congratulatory message to the 27th summit of the African Union (AU), which kicked off Sunday in the Rwandan capital of Kigali.

Xi noted that the AU has played an important role in promoting unity, self-improvement as well as integration of Africa.

The Chinese president wished for even more achievements in peace and development by African countries under the leadership of the AU.

Xi stressed that the Johannesburg summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in December 2015 had scored remarkable achievements and ushered in a new era of win-win cooperation and common development between China and Africa. At the summit, Chinese and African leaders discussed cooperation strategy and jointly drew a blueprint for future cooperation, said Xi.

He said that China attaches great importance to its relations with Africa and will push for the implementation of the 10 major cooperation plans announced at the Johannesburg summit, so as to lift the China-Africa comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership to a higher level for the benefits of the Chinese and African peoples.