PHNOM PENH, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen has extended best wishes for the Chinese Lunar New Year, saying that the peoples of Cambodia and China have always shared weal and woe since ancient times.

A woman shops for festive decorations ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Jan. 17, 2023. (Photo: Xinhua)

In a recent message to the Chinese people and the Cambodians of Chinese descent, Hun Sen wished them good health, happiness and success in all their endeavors in the New Year.

"On the occasion of the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year, the Year of the Rabbit, I would like to congratulate and join in the fun with all Chinese people and Cambodians of Chinese descent, who have always lived and stuck together through thick and thin since ancient times," he said.

"I would like to express my particular thanks to the Federation of Khmer Chinese in Cambodia, Chinese people and Cambodians of Chinese descent around the world for having invested and actively contributed to the development of Cambodia," he added.

In a public speech during a visit to the construction site of a new hospital in the capital's northwestern suburb on Thursday, Hun Sen said his wife, Bun Rany, is a Cambodian of Chinese ancestry and that his family also celebrates the Chinese New Year.

The 2023 Chinese Lunar New Year, or the Spring Festival, will fall on Sunday.

On Saturday, folk artists from six different troupes jointly performed lion dance at the Royal Palace here, receiving warm welcome from Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Royal Palace Minister Kong Sam Ol.

Sambo Manara, vice president of the Pannasastra University of Cambodia, said the Chinese New Year has gained its popularity in the Southeast Asian nation from year to year thanks to the close ties in politics, economics and culture between the two countries.

"A large number of Cambodians have Chinese ancestry, and we estimate that about 80 percent of Cambodians living in urban areas and 40 percent in rural areas celebrate the Chinese New Year," he told Xinhua.