At Party meeting, Xi Jinping stresses China’s “right to use force” on Taiwan

Chinese President Xi Jinping stated that China will never give up the right to use force against Taiwan, but will strive for a peaceful solution.

Speaking at the start of a congress widely expected to win a third leadership term that will cement his place as the country’s most powerful ruler since Mao Zedong, Xi said: “We insist on fighting for the prospect of peaceful reunification.” with the utmost sincerity and best efforts, but we will never promise to relinquish the use of force and reserve the option to take all necessary measures.”

He went on to say, “We have resolutely waged a great fight against separatism and interference, demonstrating our firm determination and ability to safeguard state sovereignty and territorial integrity and oppose Taiwan independence.”

The delegates, who wore blue masks, responded with loud applause.

The meeting, held twice a year and attended by some 2,300 delegates from across the country, began in the vast Great Hall of the People on the west side of Tiananmen Square amid heavy security and under a blue sky after several days of toxic fog in the Chinese capital.

President Xi also touted the ruling Communist Party’s fight against COVID-19, while reiterating his support for the private sector and allowing markets to play a key role, even as China hammers out a “socialist economic system.” .

Xi claimed that the party, with 96 million members, “has won the biggest battle against poverty in human history.”

“We must build a high-level socialist market economic system… seamlessly consolidate and develop the public property system, seamlessly encourage and support the development of the private economy, give full prominence to the market’s decisive role in allocating resources, and give greater prominence to the role of government,” he said.

“The fight against corruption has won an overwhelming victory and has been comprehensively consolidated, eliminating serious dangers lurking within the party, the state and the military,” Xi told CPC delegates, referring to a campaign that he said critics, has been used to curb dissent within the party.

On Covid, Xi said that China had earned international praise.

In recent days, Beijing has repeatedly underlined its commitment to Xi’s zero-Covid strategy, dashing the hopes of countless Chinese citizens, as well as investors, that Beijing could soon begin to abandon a policy that has caused frustration. widespread and economic damage.

About Hong Kong

While praising the party’s control over the situation in Hong Kong, which was rocked by anti-government protests in 2019, he said China must ensure Hong Kong is governed by patriots and China will support Hong Kong in its integration with the mainland.

“One country, two systems” is the best system for Hong Kong and must be respected, in the long term, Xi said.

About the environment

He said China will give priority to protecting the environment and promoting green lifestyles, and nature conservation was an essential part of building a modern socialist country.

“Ecological and environmental protection has undergone a historic, transformational and comprehensive change: the skies of our motherland are bluer, the mountains greener and the water clearer,” Xi told the more than 2,300 delegates. He added that China had made progress in combating environmental problems in the past 10 years and vowed to “basically eliminate” heavy air and water pollution and control soil pollution.

Xi claimed that the party, with 96 million members, “has won the biggest battle against poverty in the history of mankind.”

Xi promised last year that China – the world’s biggest source of greenhouse gases – would achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, after peaking in emissions at the end of this decade.

He told delegates that China’s peak carbon and neutrality targets would be implemented consistently and in accordance with the country’s energy resources.

China will support low-carbon industries, pursue an “energy revolution” and build a new energy system, while continuing to promote “clean and efficient use of coal,” Xi said.

Reversing the damage caused by decades of breakneck economic growth has been one of China’s main policy goals during Xi’s decade in power. He warned in 2018 that any failure to fight pollution could be used as an “excuse” by hostile forces to undermine Communist Party rule.

In military and defense matters

China will speed up the construction of a world-class military and strengthen its ability to build a strategic deterrence capability, Xi said in a speech that mentioned “security” or “protection” 73 times.

He called for strengthening the ability to maintain national security, ensuring the supply of food and energy, securing supply chains, improving the ability to deal with disasters, and protecting personal information.

Continuity is expected

In his decade in power, Xi (69 years old) has led China down an increasingly authoritarian path that has prioritized security, state control of the economy in the name of “common prosperity”, more assertive diplomacy, a stronger army and intensifying pressure to take over democratically ruled Taiwan.

In general, analysts do not expect any significant change in the direction of the policy.

Xi’s power appears undiminished by a year-long tumult in which the Chinese economy has slowed sharply, dragged down by frequent COVID policy shutdowns, a crisis in the real estate sector and the impact of his 2021 offensive on China. the once-free “platform economy”, as well as global headwinds.

China’s relations with the West have deteriorated sharply, aggravated by Xi’s support for Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

“China… resolutely opposes all forms of hegemony and power politics, opposes the Cold War mentality, opposes interfering in other countries’ domestic politics, opposes double standards,” Xi said.

party power

The son of a Communist Party revolutionary, Xi has reinvigorated a party that had become deeply corrupt and increasingly irrelevant, expanding his presence in all aspects of China, with Xi officially at its “core.”

Xi scrapped presidential term limits in 2018, clearing the way for him to break with the precedent of recent decades and rule for a third term of five years, or longer.

China is a threat to the Indo-Pacific according to the United States

“We have comprehensively strengthened the party leadership… and made sure that the party plays the role of the core leadership in overseeing the overall situation,” he said.

“Through continuous struggle, we have realized the millennial dream of a moderately prosperous Chinese nation.”

The congress is expected to reconfirm Xi as general secretary of the party, China’s most powerful post, as well as chairman of the Central Military Commission. Xi’s presidency will be renewed in March at the annual session of the Chinese Parliament.

China will speed up the construction of a world-class military and strengthen its ability to build a strategic deterrence capability

On the eve of the congress, the Chinese capital stepped up security and COVID checks, while steel mills in nearby Hebei province were instructed to scale back operations to improve air quality, according to an industry source.

The day after the congress closes on Saturday, Xi is expected to introduce his new Politburo Standing Committee, a seven-person leadership team. It will include the person who will replace Li Keqiang as prime minister when he steps down in March after serving the maximum of two terms.

Article republished from The Wire as part of an agreement between both parties to share content. Link to original article:https://thewire.in/diplomacy/us-national-security-strategy-document