President Xi Jinping's special envoy Wang Zhigang, minister of science and technology will attend the presidential inauguration of Julius Maada Bio in Sierra Leone's capital Freetown, announced foreign ministry on Friday.

Bio was elected as president of Sierra Leone on May 4 and the inauguration ceremony will be held on Saturday.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a press briefing that Sierra Leone is an important partner for China in Africa, adding that both sides have always treated each other in a sincere, friendly and equal manner since the establishment of diplomatic ties 47 years ago.

He noted that mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Sierra Leone in various fields has yielded fruitful results, and bilateral friendship is in line with the fundamental interest of the two countries as well as their people.

China attaches great importance to the development of bilateral relations and is ready to work with Sierra Leone to continue enhancing the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership to benefit the two countries and their people, he said.