Buhari Congratulates China on Its New Year

By Tobi Soniyi in Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari  has congratulate  China on its Lunar New Year, which begins on January 28.

The president sent his congratulatory messages to the Chinese authorities before he proceeded on a short vacation last week.

This message was posted yesterday on the Facebook account of the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina.

The message read: “The year of Rooster for the celebration of the Chinese community in Nigeria and all over the world will commence on  January 28 this year. As you spend the next days sharing time with families and friends, on behalf of the government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I want to express my warmest greetings to you on celebrating the spring festival, also known as Chinese Lunar New Year.

“We know that it is the most important traditional festival for the Chinese. It is an occasion of family reunion. Families will be coming together, often travelling many miles to revive great family values, reflect on the blessings of the past year and look forward with hope to the new year. People will celebrate the spring festival with fireworks, parades and feasts. From Abuja to Beijing, the celebrations will be undoubtedly fantastic.”

According to him, China has made a series of social and economic achievements during the past few decades.

In the period, he said, China had made simultaneous progress in economic, political, cultural, social and bioenvironmental areas, and has achieved average yearly economic growth far above the world’s average, and has taken the second place in the world’s GDP ranking.

“Despite these noteworthy achievements, Chinese people still highly emphasise the concept of family and the opportunity of reunion, much as we in Nigeria. This is our shared value,” Buhari added

He said after 46 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations, Nigeria and China had become close economic, political and cultural partners.

He said: “During the state visit to China last April, we reached consensus that the two countries should give full play to corresponding development strategies, strong economic complementarity and enormous cooperative potential. I am confident that our strategic partnership will remain extremely successful in the Year of Rooster.

“May the relations between Nigeria and China have another profitable and affluent year. Happy new year!”