President Xi Jinping struck a warm tone with his annual Spring Festival greeting on Thursday, calling on the whole nation to love their family and friends.

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council hold a reception for the Spring Festival in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 26, 2017. The Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year, falls on Jan. 28 this year.   [Photo/Xinhua]

Love should reach to every family and bring warmth to all Chinese like a spring breeze blowing across the nation, he said in his speech ahead of the Lunar New Year, which starts on Saturday.

"The Chinese people have always valued love and high morality," Xi told his audience at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, which included senior government officials, military officers, renowned artists and ethnic community leaders.

He urged people not to neglect their family, comrades and loved ones, no matter how busy they are in their work. Love means being not hypocritical, not selfish and not outrageous, he said.

"A short greeting of ‘welcome home for Spring Festival’ would warm the hearts of millions of Chinese people," he said.

The seven members of the Political Bureau of the Commist Party of China Central Committee, headed by Xi, also attended the celebrations. It is traditional for top leaders to extend Spring Festival wishes at such an annual ceremony, which this year also featured performances by an orchestra, ballet dancers and acrobats.

Xi went on to wish all Chinese, including ethnic groups, those in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and those living abroad, an auspicious Year of the Rooster, an animal that symbolizes good fortune.

China’s economic growth has remained one of the strongest in the world, and the people’s livelihood has continuously been improved, the president said, before calling on the nation to “roll up our sleeves to work harder".

Xi said he hopes the people “not only have great dreams, but also show a hardworking spirit to fulfill those dreams”. He added, “The progresses in China’s development are achieved thanks to Chinese people’s diligent work."