AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of people from across New Zealand celebrated the upcoming Chinese New Year at the 2021 Chinese New Year Festival and Market Day event in Auckland on Saturday.

The annual event, one of the largest Chinese New Year celebrations in New Zealand, was joined by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Auckland Mayor Phil Goff, Opposition leader Judith Collins and many distinguished guests.

In her keynote speech, Ardern said that the 2021 Chinese New Year represented an opportunity to acknowledge the past year and to look forward to 2021 with optimism and with hope.

"People born in the year of Ox, are known to be honest, consistent, hardworking and generous. Those character traits of the Chinese community, who have joined New Zealand and contributed to New Zealand for over 170 years with all of those many traits", said Ardern.

Ardern also mentioned the economic ties between New Zealand and China, particularly the New Zealand-China Free Trade Agreement upgrade that was signed this week.

"Alongside the renewed commitment to our people-to-people links, stands our on-going commitment to our economic and trade ties, which are equally long and deep and important to us," said Ardern.

"It is a really important milestone for both countries, and shows the strength of our relationship," said Ardern.

Ruan Ping, Chinese consul general in Auckland, said in his opening remark that New Zealand was now well positioned for post-pandemic recovery.

"For 12 years, The China-New Zealand FTA has brought huge benefits to both countries and peoples. The upgrade protocol involves multiple areas such as trade, investment and rules, making China-New Zealand free trade more efficient. I am convinced that by working together, China and New Zealand will achieve more tangible results in pragmatic cooperation and friendly relations," said Ruan.

Traditional Chinese performances including lion and dragon dances, Wushu performances, face-changing performance, magic shows, singing and dancing were showcased in the celebration.

Free facemasks and hand sanitizers were provided during the event to the general public for additional safeguarding people's health, although facemasks were not mandatory by government regulation. People were also encouraged to scan the NZ COVID Tracer App for contact tracing.

New Zealand is currently at COVID-19 Alert Level One with no restriction on public gathering. Enditem

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