On June 21, 2010, Chinese President Hu Jintao sent a message to President-elect Juan Manuel Santos to congratulate him on his election as Colombian president. In his message, President Hu extended warm congratulations and best wishes to Santos and pointed out that China-Colombia relations have been developing smoothly since the establishment of diplomatic ties three decades ago. In recent years, bilateral ties have entered a new stage of rapid development with the joint efforts of both sides. The Chinese government attaches great importance to developing friendly relations with Colombia and is ready to work with the country to continuously deepen pragmatic cooperation in all areas and push for sound and fast development of bilateral ties.