Two Chinese sailors under the command of Bully Hayes were based there for two years, and one of them settled down in 1876 and married a Samoan wife.

[10] Four years after Western Samoa came under German rule in 1899, the colonial governor Wilhelm Solf lifted Malietoa's ban and shipped in Chinese labourers from 1903 onwards.

Aeau Peniamina, deputy leader of the Samoa Democratic United Party, caused a minor controversy in January 2005 when he remarked that "there are too many Chinese in the country".

The majority of the Chinese indentured labourers came from the Guangdong province and generally spoke Cantonese or Hakka as their primary language.

[4] However, their descendants in Samoa have adopted Samoan and English as their mother tongues, while Cantonese is still reportedly spoken by a few elderly people.

Chinese immigrants brought their culinary traditions with them to Samoa, where rice (alaisa), noodles (lialia), cha siu bao (keke pua'a), chop suey (sapasui), and Chinese pastries (keke saina, masi saina) have all been adopted into standard Samoan cuisine.

Respect for parents, veneration of ancestors, and strong extended family and clan relationships were mutually shared customs.

The traditional Chinese camphor chest (jeung seung, 樟箱) has become commonplace in Samoan homes, where they are called atola'au.

[20] Likewise, some European-Samoan names begin with "Misi," the Samoan transliteration of "Mister" (Mr.) - as in Misiluki ("Mr. Luke"), Misimua/Misimoa ("Mr. Moors"), Misipaulo ("Mr. Paul"), Misitea ("Mr. Stair"), and Misikea ("Mr. Gurr") [21][22]