BEIJING, March 18. /TASS/. Russia will be able to achieve even greater success in its development efforts under the leadership of newly re-elected President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping said.

"I believe that under your leadership Russia will be able to achieve even greater successes in development and nation-building," the Chinese head of state said in a congratulatory telegram to Putin.

According to Xi, the Chinese authorities pay great attention to strengthening relations with Russia. He pointed out that the Chinese leadership is ready to maintain close contacts to contribute to "further healthy, stable and in-depth development of the Russia-China comprehensive strategic partnership in the new era for the benefit of the two countries and peoples."

Russia held its first three-day presidential election over the period March 15-17. Remote electronic voting, also a first, was available to voters in 29, or about one-third, of the country’s regions. According to the Central Election Commission (CEC), after 99.43% of vote tally reports by local election commissions had been processed, incumbent head of state Vladimir Putin held a resounding lead over his three rivals with 87.32% of the vote.