On June 13, 2018, President Xi Jinping exchanged congratulatory letters with President Juan Carlos Varela of Panama on the first anniversary of the establishment of China-Panama diplomatic relations.

Xi Jinping pointed out in the congratulatory letter that China officially established diplomatic relations with Panama last June, which opened a new era for bilateral relations. Last November, you successfully paid a state visit to China and we together discussed and planned for the comprehensive development of China-Panama relations. With the careful cultivation of both sides, the seed of the development of China-Panama relations is blossoming and yielding fruits. Facts have proved that the establishment of China-Panama diplomatic relations is the correct political decision made by the two sides from a long-term perspective and has been unanimously supported by the two peoples. I attach great importance to the development of China-Panama relations and stand ready to work with you to strengthen the mutually beneficial cooperation in all fields in the principle of mutual respect, win-win cooperation and common development so as to make China-Panama relations flourish for the benefit of the two countries and the two peoples.

Juan Carlos Varela said in his congratulatory letter that over the past year, Panama and China have reached important consensus on the basis of traditional friendship and existing cooperation and achieved fruitful results. In this context, the two sides ushered in the historic moment of the first anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. He is very proud to have personally participated in the start of Panama-China relations and will continue to enthusiastically commit to strengthening Panama-China relations in the most extensive fields.