China on Tuesday congratulated the new president of the Maldives on his election victory, after opposition leader Ibrahim Mohamed Solih defeated incumbent Abdulla Yameen in the Indian Ocean island nation last week.

Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang made the comment at a daily news briefing in the Chinese capital.

Yameen, who had cultivated ties with both Beijing and Saudi Arabia, conceded defeat after the Election Commission said Solih had won by a margin of 16.7 percent.

Before the election, the opposition said it would review Chinese investment, partly out of concern over terms, as experts have warned that the archipelago risked falling into a debt trap.