SUVA, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama celebrated Spring Festival in Suva on Sunday with the local Chinese community, sending his well wishes as the Pacific island country entered into the year of the sheep on the lunar calendar.

Under the dazzling sun, a red short sleeve shirt-clad Bainimarama arrived at Yat Sen School together with his wife Maria and a granddaughter, greeted by a cheerful crowd braving tropical heat and eager to kick start the celebrations for Spring Festival, locally known as Chinese New Year.

After participating in the lion dance by feeding the "lions" with cash-containing red packets, or hong bao, Bainimarama delivered his keynote speech as the chief guest of the event, greeting ethnic Chinese in Fiji and the Chinese people all over the world with the Chinese expression "ni hao," which means hello.

"The New Year for your community - the Spring Festival - is a joyous time for you all, as it is for the more than one billion Chinese in China and the vast Chinese diaspora throughout the world," the Fijian prime minister said.

"The Chinese were one of the earliest groups of foreign settlers to come to Fiji and the Chinese community has played an important role in our nation's development. We pay tribute to that contribution today and thank the community for their loyalty to our nation, their dedication and their hard work," he said.

Bainimarama, a retired rear admiral who won the first parliamentary election in September last year since the country's 2006 coup, thanked China for its steadfast support and generous assistance to Fiji.

This year "marks an even more important occasion," Bainimarama said, "Because it is the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Fiji and the People's Republic of China. Since then, our relationship has developed into a great friendship between our two countries."

"Fiji will never forget the support that China has been willing to give us, especially after 2006 when some of our traditional friends turned their backs on us," the Fijian prime minister underscored.

"China stayed by our side because it recognized that what we were doing as a nation was for the long-term benefit of the Fijian people. And it has done a huge amount to contribute to the development and improvement of our infrastructure, including roads, public housing, hydroelectric projects, solar projects and hospitals."

The Fijian prime minister spoke highly of Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Fiji in November last year.

"Our relationship reached a new height last year when Fiji had the honor and privilege to host Chinese President Xi Jinping. The president's historic and successful state visit was the first by a Chinese head of state since we established diplomatic ties in 1975, " Bainimarama said.

"We found ourselves agreeing, face-to-face, on a great many issues and we opened up new avenues of cooperation in a number of different areas. The visit signified the depth of the relationship between China and Fiji and has set the groundwork for a new era of partnership, which Fijians deeply appreciate."

Bainimarama asked Yang Zhaohui, charge d'affaires of the Chinese embassy to "pass on our sincere greetings, thanks and good wishes to the Chinese government and the Chinese people and our hope for their continuing prosperity in the year of the goat."

"May the year to come be auspicious. May it be one of harmony and prosperity. All Fijians join me in wishing you all a very Happy New Year," the Fijian prime minister said.