BEIJING, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday congratulated U.S. President Barack Obama on his winning Nobel Peace Prize.

    "We have noticed that President Obama was awarded this year's Nobel Peace Prize for his 'extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between people,'" Ma Zhaoxu, spokesman of the ministry, said at a regular press conference.

    The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced Obama's winning on Friday.

    The Nobel prizes have been awarded annually since 1901 to those who "conferred the greatest benefit on mankind during the preceding year."

    The prizes are usually announced in October and are handed out on Dec. 10, the death anniversary of Alfred Nobel, a Swedish industrialist and the inventor of dynamite.

    Each prize consists of a medal, a personal diploma and a cash award of 10 million Swedish kronor (about 1.4 million U.S. dollars).