NEW YORK, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Consul General in New York Huang Ping on Thursday gave wishes and blessings on traditional Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls on Feb. 12 this year, to local Chinese people and Chinese Americans.

File photo: Agencies

The Preliminary Eve of the Lunar New Year, or Xiao Nian in Chinese, falls on Thursday this year.

Speaking in a video message posted on social media, Huang highlighted Chinese Americans' contribution in combating the coronavirus pandemic in both the United States and China.

Many Chinese Americans in the US east coast donated money or protective equipment to help China fight COVID-19 in early 2020, said Huang.

Meanwhile, Chinese Americans, hospitals, seniors' centers and others received hundreds of thousands items of protective equipment donated by Chinese companies or individuals when the United States was hit by the pandemic, according to Huang.

John Chan, chairman of the Asian American Community Empowerment and chairman of American Chinese Commerce Association, told Xinhua that he facilitated the donation of two million masks to China on the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year last year.

Speaking in an earlier interview, Chan said he later arranged donations of over 300,000 masks, gloves, protective coveralls to hospitals, police, firefighters, seniors' centers and others in New York.

Chan, a restaurant owner, also donated self-made food to local residents at the high of the pandemic in 2020.