By Ms. Yan Yuqing, Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Lagos

In December 2023, the 78th United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution officially listing the Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, as a UN floating holiday in its calendar of conferences and meetings from 2024.

On December 4, 2024, the China nominated ‘Spring festival, social practices of the Chinese people in celebration of traditional new year’ was added to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The Spring Festival is a Chinese festival, and it’s a festival for the world, from being listed as a United Nations floating holiday to be inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, showing the influence of Chinese New Year culture around the world is growing.

According to incomplete statistics, nearly 20 countries and regions have designated the Spring Festival as a legal holiday, and folk customs and activities associated with the Spring Festival have spread to nearly 200 countries and regions, becoming a global cultural event.

January 29, 2025 is the Spring Festival of this year, which is the grandest and most vibrant celebration for the Chinese people and symbolizes reunion and hope. It carries the rich customs, rituals, skills and knowledge embedded in Chinese culture. People capture the joy and warmth of the season, through traditional activities such as pasting Spring Festival couplets, going to temple fairs, setting off fireworks, having reunion meals, and visiting relatives and friends. These activities reflect the spiritual essence of Chinese culture – harmony, concord and peace, and expressing people’s pursuit of a better life.

Over the past year, while the world witnessed further transformation and instability, China and Nigeria have always supported each other for mutual benefit, writing a magnificent chapter of China-Nigeria friendship and co-operation, and seeking common development and progress.

On September 3, 2024, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who was in China for the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and a state visit in Beijing. The two heads of state jointly declared the elevation of the bilateral relations toa Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, and witnessed the signing of a number of bilateral cooperation documents on the high-quality Belt and Road cooperation plan and among other fields, successfully opening a new chapter in the development of China-Nigeria relations.

Over the past year, under the guidance of the leaders of China and Nigeria, and with the support of friends from all sectors in both countries, the Chinese Consulate General in Lagos has worked hand in hand with various partners with insight, to advance and deepen the consular district’s cooperation with China, which has yielded significant achievements in economy and trade , local interactions, and people-to-people exchanges, contributing to the enhancement and upgrade of the China-Nigeria Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Over the past year, we welcome the arrival of the Chinese Year of Dragon, enjoy the Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival, and celebrate the National Day/Independence Day of our two countries. Various cultural exchanges have deepened the exchanges and mutual understanding and interaction between the civilizations of China and Nigeria, strengthening the humanistic foundation for building a community with a shared future between China and Nigeria, as well as China and Africa.

Over the past year, the Chinese Consulate General, in collaboration with the local Chinese community, enterprises and academics, carried out the “Renewed Hope, Rebirth from the Light” charity project to finance cataract sufferers in Nigeria. This project has enabled over 300 cataract patients in Nigeria to regain their eyesight. The Chinese Consulate General will launch the ‘Together Fight Against Hunger’ charity project to make China’s contribution to poverty reduction and the fight against hunger for Nigeria.

‘A single flower does not make a spring, while one hundred flowers in full blossom bring spring to the garden,’ just as the Global Civilization Initiative proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping, goes. In the past two years since the GCI was put forward, China has worked with Nigeria and other countries around the world to promote people-to-people exchanges and ties, to make the garden of world civilizations more colorful and vibrant. The GCI contributes China’s solutions to advancing global modernization and progress of human civilizations. We are willing to share the culture of the Spring Festival with the Nigerian people, celebrate the festival together, and foster mutual understanding and cooperation between the people of China and Nigeria, as they together march forward a shared future.

The New Year is the Year of the Snake. In Chinese traditional culture, snake is a symbol of longevity, good fortune, wisdom and wealth. China and Nigeria will in accordance with the consensus reached by the two heads of state, comprehensively deepen the cooperation of Belt and Road initiative, in various fields such as politics, economy and trade, science and technology, education and culture, bring more benefits for the two countries and peoples, join hands to build a High-level China-Nigeria Community with a Shared Future, and write a new chapter of friendship and cooperation in the year 2025!

Finally, on the occasion of the Spring Festival, on behalf of the Chinese Consulate General in Lagos, I would like to extend sincere greetings and best wishes for the new year to friends from all walks of life in China and Nigeria. May you all enjoy a joyful new year with good health, success and prosperity, and family happiness!