Chinese leaders on Thursday exchanged congratulatory messages with leaders of the European Union (EU) to mark the 35th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral ties.

In a congratulatory message to EU President Herman Van Rompuy, Chinese President Hu Jintao said bilateral relations have made considerable progress since China and the EU forged ties 35 year ago.

After entering the new century, China and the EU formed a comprehensive strategic partnership. As major powers in the world, China and the EU have increasingly broader common interest and their relations are of even greater strategic significance, Hu said.

China has always regarded the EU as one of its most important partners, and is willing to further promote political dialogue at all levels with the EU, enhance political and strategic mutual trust, broaden the fields of cooperation, and elevate their cooperation to a new high, he added.

China is ready to join hands with the EU to tackle global challenges and make China-EU ties a model for mutual respect, friendly coexistence, win-win cooperation and common progress between different social systems and modes of development, Hu said.

Van Rompuy said in his message that the EU and China have made significant progress, and that the two sides have formed relations of comprehensive cooperation. He expressed the belief that the EU-China strategic partnership and the people-to-people friendship will continue to flourish.

On the same day, top Chinese legislator Wu Bangguo and Premier Wen Jiabao also exchanged greetings with President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek, EU President Van Rompuy, and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso to mark the 35th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations.

Wu said as an important part of China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership, exchanges and cooperation between parliaments of the two sides have grown closer and have played an irreplaceable role in boosting mutual understanding between peoples of both sides and enhancing bilateral ties.

The Chinese National People's Congress (NPC) is ready to further deepen exchanges and cooperation with the European Parliament and contribute to the sound, stable and deep-going development of the China-EU relations, Wu said.

In his message, Premier Wen Jiabao said it not only benefits peoples of the two sides but also is conducive to world peace, stability and development that China and the EU deepen bilateral ties on the basis of equity and mutual respect.

The Chinese government will continue to be firmly committed to deepening China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership, and work together with the EU to enhance China-EU ties and achieve mutually beneficial win-win results and common development, Wen said.

The EU leaders said in their messages that the EU-China ties have made great progress over the last 35 years.

The EU and China have set up a comprehensive strategic partnership, and conducted all-round cooperation which turned to be fruitful. In face of the current global challenges, the EU-China relations have become more important than ever before, they added.

The EU side is ready to join hands with China to ensure that the EU-China strategic partnership would make still greater achievements, they said.