Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Wednesday exchanged messages of congratulations to mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral ties.

Wen said China and Canada established diplomatic relations on Oct. 13, 1970 to unveil a new chapter in the countries' relationship.

In the past 40 years, the China-Canada relationship had achieved historic development thanks to the common efforts of both sides, he said.

Exchanges had been frequent and cooperation in wide-ranging areas such as economy and trade, energy resources, science and education, culture and health, environmental protection and tourism had been fruitful, Wen said.

The two sides had also worked together closely on a series of major international and regional issues, he said.

Chinese President Hu Jintao's state visit to Canada in June and Prime Minister Harper's visit to China last December strongly promoted further development of the bilateral ties, he said.

Wen said China and Canada were both big influential countries of the world.

The long-term stable development of China-Canada ties not only conformed to the wills of the people of the two countries but also was conducive to peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region as well as in the world, Wen said.

The relationship currently had an important opportunity to develop, Wen said, adding that China was ready to make joint efforts with Canada to promote a continuous development of the bilateral ties on a new historical starting point following the spirit of the China-Canada Joint Statement and to bring benefits to the people of the two countries.

Harper said the friendship between China and Canada had been built on the basis of equality and mutual respect.

"Today, the relationship between our two dynamic nations is flourishing, with more trade, more people-to-people links, and more cooperation on a wide variety of issues than ever before," he said.

"As we move into a new era of partnership, we have shared aspirations for even stronger relations, so that all citizens of our two countries can continue to enjoy the concrete benefits of our cooperation," Harper said.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and his Canadian counterpart, Lawrence Cannon, also extended congratulatory letters to each other on the occasion.