General Secretary Hu Jintao of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Saturday sent a congratulatory message to General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) Kim Jong Il for the 65th anniversary of the party's founding.

"Upon the 65th anniversary of the WPK's establishment, I, on behalf of the CPC Central Committee and in my own name, extend my warm congratulations to the WPK Central Committee," the message said.

The WPK was forged by late Chairman Kim Il Sung, the DPRK people's great leader, and has a glorious revolutionary tradition, it said.

Over a long period, the WPK has led the DPRK people in overcoming difficulties and risks and arduously struggling to continuously make eye-catching achievements in the socialist revolution and construction cause, it added.

"For many years, the WPK under the leadership of General Secretary Kim Jong Il has followed the will of Chairman Kim Il Sung, and led the DPRK people in continuing to positively seek a development path suitable for the DPRK's own situation and has made delightful achievements in the DPRK-style socialist construction cause," the message said.

"As a friendly neighbor, close comrade and sincere friend, we sincerely wish the DPRK people, under the leadership of the WPK headed by General Secretary Kim Jong Il, continuously make new and bigger achievements in the historical process of building a strong and prosperous country," it added.

In recent years, under close care of both sides and joint efforts of the two peoples, the China-DPRK friendly and cooperative relations have continuously been strengthened and developed, and made great contributions to boosting the two countries' socialist construction causes, the message said.

The CPC highly cherishes the traditional China-DPRK friendship, and makes it an unswerving policy to continuously strengthen and develop bilateral friendly and cooperative ties, it said.

"We are willing to make joint efforts with the DPRK side to continuously promote China-DPRK relations to a new and higher level," the message said.