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Nigerian leader extends greetings to China on Spring Festival

Xinhua, January 22, 2017 Adjust font size:

Nigerian leader Muhammadu Buhari has extended his "warmest greetings" to China, the Chinese community in Nigeria and the world over on the annual Spring Festival or Chinese lunar new year.

Buhari, who noted the Spring Festival is the most important traditional festival for the Chinese, said the celebration emphasizes the concept of family and the opportunity of reunion, one he considered a shared value between his country and China.

"It is an occasion of family reunion. Families will be coming together, often traveling many miles to revive great family values, reflect on the blessings of the past year and look forward with hope to the New Year," Buhari wrote in a statement released by his office on Sunday, adding he hoped the celebrations will be "undoubtedly fantastic."

The "Year of Rooster", the theme of 2017 Chinese lunar year, will commence on Jan. 28.

Going down the memory lane, China has made noteworthy achievements in the social and economic circles, the Nigerian leader said, pointing out that the East Asian nation has made simultaneous progress also in political, cultural and bioenvironmental areas, and has achieved average yearly economic growth far above the world's average, as well as taking the second place in the world's GDP ranking.

Buhari expressed optimism in the strategic partnership between Nigeria and China, noting the two countries had reached a consensus to give full play to corresponding development strategies, strong economic complementarity, and enormous cooperative potential.

China and Nigeria established diplomatic relations 46 years ago. Endit