BEIJING -- President Xi Jinping on Friday met with Liberian President Joseph Nyumah Boakai, who is in Beijing for the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

The two leaders jointly announced the elevation of bilateral relations to a strategic partnership.

Xi said the Chinese and Liberian people have shared weal and woe in jointly fighting Ebola and COVID-19 in recent years, and sincerely cooperated in national development, adding new substance to bilateral relations.

He called for strengthened exchanges and dialogue, and mutual support on issues involving their respective core interests and major concerns to safeguard the national sovereignty, security and development interests of both countries.

China is willing to support Liberia in infrastructure construction within its capacity and step up bilateral cooperation in maritime transportation, agriculture, resources and other fields, he noted.

As members of the Global South, China and Liberia should work with other developing countries to jointly uphold fairness and justice, and promote the development of global governance toward a more just and equitable direction, Xi added.

Boakai expressed his gratitude for China's long-standing valuable support to Liberia, noting that cooperation with China in various fields such as infrastructure, healthcare and education has improved Liberian people's lives.

The president reiterated that the Liberian government firmly adheres to the one-China policy and is committed to developing strategic partnership with China. He hopes that the two sides will continue to deepen pragmatic cooperation to help Liberia achieve modernization.

During the summit, the two countries signed bilateral cooperation documents in areas including maritime transportation.