Chinese President Xi Jinping opened the 20th Congress of the ruling Communist Party on Sunday, during which he is widely expected to win a third term and consolidate his status as the country’s most powerful ruler since Mao Zedong.
The Chinese president praised his Communist Party government and criticized the intervention of “external forces” in Taiwan, stressing that his country will not give up the right to use force on Taiwan.
“The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China is very important and takes place at a delicate time, when the whole Party and people of all ethnic groups embark on a new journey to build a well-rounded modern socialist country, Xi ha told Party delegates gathered in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
Jinping condemned the interference of outside forces in Taiwan, while hailing Hong Kong’s transition from “chaos to government”.
In his speech, Xi pledged to wage a “great fight against separatism and meddling” on the autonomous island of Taiwan, noting that “the situation in Hong Kong has reached a major transition from chaos to government.”
He said the solution to the Taiwan issue belongs to the Chinese people and that China will not give up the right to use force, underlining his country’s rejection of the “cold war mentality” in international politics.
“We have waged a strong fight against separatism and interference and have demonstrated our firm determination and ability to safeguard state sovereignty and territorial integrity and oppose Taiwan’s independence,” he added. The delegates present responded with loud applause.
“The battle of poverty”
The Chinese president said the party, which has 96 million members, “has won the biggest fight against poverty in human history”.
Since taking power in China ten years ago, Xi Jinping has prioritized security, state control of the economy in the name of “general prosperity”, more assertive diplomacy, a stronger military and intense pressure. to check Taiwan.
Analysts generally do not expect any significant change in policy stance.
Basic principles
The gathering of some 2,300 delegates from across the country began in the Great Hall of the People on the western side of Tiananmen Square amid tight security.
Xi, 69, entered the hall just before 10:00 (02:00 GMT) and began giving a speech in which he should review the party’s achievements over the past few years and set general priorities for the next five years. Analysts generally do not expect any significant change in policy direction.
“We see no reason to change course or make fundamental changes to the fundamental principles and strategies it has established over the past decade,” Saxo Bank market analyst Redmond Wong said in a statement Friday.
