BEIJING, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping on Wednesday extended festive greetings to all Chinese people when he held virtual talks with the general public from across the country ahead of the Spring Festival.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, spoke with medical workers in a hospital, senior citizens at a welfare home, workers at an outlying oilfield, travelers and staff members at a high-speed railway station, vendors and customers at a wholesale market, and people in an ethnic minority village via video link.

Xi wished Chinese people of all ethnic groups healthy and happy lives in the Year of the Rabbit and expressed his hope that the country will enjoy prosperity.

This year's Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year, falls on Jan. 22.

This combo photo shows Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, extending festive greetings to all Chinese people when he holds virtual talks with the general public from across the country ahead of the Spring Festival in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 18, 2023. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi, Li Tao)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, talks with medical workers at the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, via video link, Jan. 18, 2023. Xi on Wednesday extended festive greetings to all Chinese people when he held virtual talks in Beijing with the general public from across the country ahead of the Spring Festival. (Xinhua/Li Tao)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, talks with medical workers at the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, via video link, Jan. 18, 2023. Xi on Wednesday extended festive greetings to all Chinese people when he held virtual talks in Beijing with the general public from across the country ahead of the Spring Festival. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, talks with older people and staffers at a welfare home in Fuzhou, capital of east China's Fujian Province, via video link, Jan. 18, 2023. Xi on Wednesday extended festive greetings to all Chinese people when he held virtual talks in Beijing with the general public from across the country ahead of the Spring Festival. (Xinhua/Li Tao)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, talks with older people and staffers at a welfare home in Fuzhou, capital of east China's Fujian Province, via video link, Jan. 18, 2023. Xi on Wednesday extended festive greetings to all Chinese people when he held virtual talks in Beijing with the general public from across the country ahead of the Spring Festival. (Xinhua/Ding Haitao)