President of Nauru David Adeang arrives in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province on February 8, 2025. Photo: Chinese Embassy in Nauru

In a trip that underscores his ancestral ties to China, President of Nauru David Adeang arrived in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province on Sunday to celebrate the "Little New Year," which falls on Tuesday, with his relatives in Guangdong's Jiangmen and to meet local officials and visit enterprises to deepen practical cooperation between Nauru and Guangdong, according to the Chinese Embassy in Nauru's website on Monday.

Adeang, leading a delegation, arrived in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, on Sunday to officially begin his visit to Guangdong, the embassy said. He is set to visit Guangzhou and Foshan, meet with provincial and municipal leaders, and visit local enterprises to discuss further deepening practical cooperation between Guangdong and Nauru.

Chinese Ambassador to Nauru, Lyu Jin, Director of the Foreign Affairs Office of Guangdong Provincial Government, Ma Wenfeng, and Nauru's Ambassador to China, Chitra Jeremiah, were among those who greeted him at the airport.

Adeang will spend the Little New Year with his relatives in Jiangmen, his ancestral hometown, according to the embassy.

This marks Adeang's second visit to Guangdong seven months after his last trip to trace his ancestral roots and pay homage to his forebears in the province, the embassy said.

From a young age, Adeang was told by his mother that his ancestors came from China. On July 6, 2025, Adeang, along with his family, embarked on a journey to Jiangmen to seek his roots, China Central Television (CCTV) News reported.

Chen Hong, director of the Australian Studies Centre of East China Normal University, told the Global Times on Monday that this personal memory of identity serves as the most vivid and heartwarming footnote to China-Nauru relations, ensuring that the bilateral relationship is not only built on practical interests but also grounded in profound cultural and emotional foundations.

During that ancestral roots-seeking journey in July 2025, Adeang met his then 81-year-old maternal great-grand aunt, Tan Huixia. Despite it being their first encounter and facing a language barrier, the president held her hand tightly throughout, CCTV News reported. 

Understanding our past and tracing the path we have trodden is of profound importance, as it enables us to see the way forward with greater clarity, Adeang said, adding that at present, Nauru and China have maintained sound diplomatic relations, and this blood kinship and ancestral bond stands as a sturdy bridge between the two countries, according to CCTV. 

Chen noted that Adeang's family-focused visit also underscores that China's relations with developing countries, especially Pacific Island nations, are not grounded in geopolitical games but are built upon tangible human bonds and practical cooperation.

The official X account of the Republic of Nauru posted on Monday, "His Excellency President David Adeang is in China for meetings with industry officials in fisheries and phosphate, and to further explore opportunities to enhance bilateral cooperation between Nauru and China."

Chen said Guangzhou and Foshan, which the president is set to visit, possess mature expertise and complete industrial chains in areas such as infrastructure, green energy, and marine economy - sectors that are highly complementary to the pressing needs of Nauru, a Pacific Island nation.

Through local-to-local and business-to-business engagement, the friendship between the two countries will be translated into concrete and sustainable outcomes in cooperation, according to Chen.

In just over a month since the beginning of 2026, China has welcomed several heads of state, including leaders from South Korea, Ireland, Canada, Finland, UK, and Uruguay.

Adeang's homecoming-style visit to celebrate the Little New Year with relatives exemplifies an emerging pattern of diplomatic engagement with China.

Chen said this approach conveys a clear message to the international community that China's allure resides not only in the macro political and economic dimensions, but also in everyday social, cultural and human bonds.