BEIJING, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the fourth China-Arab States Expo that opened Thursday in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

Following the trend of the times and respective development needs, China and the Arab states have in recent years made joint efforts in advancing the Belt and Road and achieved fruitful results, Xi said in the letter.

During the eighth ministerial meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum held in Beijing in July last year, the two sides agreed to establish a future-oriented strategic partnership of comprehensive cooperation and common development.

The fourth China-Arab States Expo will offer a beneficial platform for the two sides to deepen pragmatic cooperation and push forward high-quality development of the Belt and Road, Xi said.

He expressed hope that the two sides could seize the opportunity and tap the potential to jointly promote their strategic partnership to make greater progress for the benefit of the people from both sides.

The expo runs from Sept. 5 to Sept. 8 in Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia.