Xi Jinping delivers a report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on behalf of the 19th CPC Central Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Oct 16, 2022. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
BEIJING – Xi Jinping called on all members of the Communist Party of China (CPC) to strive in unity to build a modern socialist China in all respects as the 20th CPC National Congress opened Sunday.
The congress takes place at a critical time as the entire Party and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups embark on a new journey to build China into a modern socialist country in all respects and advance toward the Second Centenary Goal, Xi said in a report at the opening session of the congress.
The theme of the congress is holding high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, fully implementing the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, carrying forward the great founding spirit of the Party, staying confident and building strength, upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground, forging ahead with enterprise and fortitude, and striving in unity to build a modern socialist country in all respects and advance the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts, he said.
Since its founding a century ago, the CPC has taken a remarkable journey and dedicated itself to achieving lasting greatness for the Chinese nation and committed itself to the noble cause of peace and development for humanity, Xi said. "Our responsibility is unmatched in importance, and our mission is glorious beyond compare."
It is imperative that all of us in the Party never forget our original aspiration and founding mission, that we always stay modest, prudent, and hard-working, and that we have the courage and ability to carry on our fight.
Xi Jinping
"It is imperative that all of us in the Party never forget our original aspiration and founding mission, that we always stay modest, prudent, and hard-working, and that we have the courage and ability to carry on our fight," he said.
READ MORE: Stage set for Party's National Congress
The whole Party must remain confident in the history, exhibit greater historical initiative, and write an even more magnificent chapter for socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, Xi said.
The five years since the 19th National Congress of the CPC have been truly momentous and extraordinary, Xi said.
National rejuvenation
The Party Central Committee has pursued a strategy of national rejuvenation amid global changes of a magnitude not seen in a century, with major strategic plans made for advancing the cause of the Party and the country, Xi said.
The Party Central Committee has brought together the entire Party, the military, and the Chinese people and led them in effectively responding to grave, intricate international developments and a series of immense risks and challenges, he said.
"With great effort and determination, we have steadily advanced socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era," Xi said.
He said great energy has been devoted to finishing building a moderately prosperous society in all respects while the overall leadership of the Party and the centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee were strengthened.
The Communist Party of China opens its 20th national congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Oct 16, 2022. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
He added that the new development philosophy was fully and faithfully applied on all fronts, focusing on promoting high-quality development, and working to create a new pattern of development.
Great transformation
Xi said the great transformation over the past 10 years of the new era marks a milestone in the history of the CPC, of the People's Republic of China, of reform and opening up, of the development of socialism, and of the development of the Chinese nation.
"Over the course of a century of endeavor, the CPC has tempered itself through revolution and grown stronger," said Xi.
"As we have upheld and developed socialism with Chinese characteristics, the Party has always remained a strong leadership core," Xi said.
The Chinese people are more inspired than ever to forge ahead, more resolved than ever to work hard, and more confident than ever of securing success, he said.
"With full confidence, the CPC and the Chinese people are driving the great transformation of the Chinese nation from standing up and growing prosperous to becoming strong," Xi said.
ALSO READ: Xi stresses upholding, improving 'one country, two systems’
The CPC has advanced reform, opening up, and socialist modernization. "The rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is now on an irreversible historical course," Xi said.
"Scientific socialism is brimming with renewed vitality in 21st-century China. Chinese modernization offers humanity a new choice for achieving modernization," Xi said.
The CPC and the Chinese people have provided humanity with more Chinese insight, better Chinese input, and greater Chinese strength to help solve its common challenges and have made new and greater contributions to the noble cause of human peace and development, he said.
Adapting Marxism
It is the solemn historic responsibility of today's Chinese Communists to continue opening new chapters in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times, Xi said.
"Our experience has taught us that, at the fundamental level, we owe the success of our Party and socialism with Chinese characteristics to the fact that Marxism works, particularly when it is adapted to the Chinese context and the needs of our times," he said.
"Marxism is the fundamental guiding ideology upon which our Party and our country are founded and thrive," he added.
The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China opens at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Oct 16, 2022. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, with the courage to make theoretical explorations and innovations, the CPC has, from an entirely new perspective, deepened its understanding of the laws that underlie governance by a communist party, the development of socialism, and the evolution of human society, he said.
"It has achieved major theoretical innovations, which are encapsulated in the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era," Xi said.
ALSO READ: Xi: CPC to firmly advance cause of national reunification
"The main elements of this theory are summarized in the 10 affirmations, the 14 commitments, and the 13 areas of achievement that were articulated at the 19th CPC National Congress and the Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th Party Central Committee, all of which we must adhere to over the long term and continue to enrich and develop," he said.
To keep advancing theoretical innovation on the basis of practical experience, the Party must, first of all, gain a good command of the worldview and methodology of the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and adhere to and make good use of its stances, viewpoints, and methods, Xi said.
"We must put the people first, maintain self-confidence and stand on our own feet, uphold fundamental principles and break new ground, adopt a problem-oriented approach, apply systems thinking, and maintain a global vision," he said.
Improving people's well-being
Xi pledged to improve the people's wellbeing and raise quality of life in the country.
"This country is its people; the people are the country. As the CPC has led the people in fighting to establish and develop the People's Republic, it has really been fighting for their support," Xi said.
Bringing benefit to the people is the fundamental principle of governance, Xi said, noting that working for the people's wellbeing is an essential part of the Party's commitment to serving the public good and exercising governance for the people.
"We must ensure and improve the people's wellbeing in the course of pursuing development and encourage everyone to work hard together to meet the people's aspirations for a better life," Xi said.
The CPC will work hard to resolve the pressing difficulties and problems that concern the people most, improve the basic public service system to raise public service standards and make public services more balanced and accessible, so as to achieve solid progress in promoting common prosperity, according to Xi.
ALSO READ: China's long-term growth prospects called promising
China will do more to help those in difficulty find employment and meet their basic needs, and improve the social security system with expanded coverage of social insurance programs, Xi said.
The country will move faster to build a housing system featuring multiple suppliers and various channels of support that encourages both housing rentals and purchases, Xi said.
In an effort to advance the Healthy China Initiative, China will establish a policy system to boost birth rates, pursue a proactive national strategy in response to population aging, and promote the preservation and innovative development of traditional Chinese medicine, Xi said.
The public health system will also be improved, with strengthened systems for epidemic prevention, control, and treatment as well as emergency response capacity so as to effectively contain major infectious diseases, Xi said.
High-standard opening up will also be promoted. China will steadily expand institutional opening up with regard to rules, regulations, management, and standards, accelerate the transformation into a trader of quality, and promote the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative, Xi said.
New development pattern
Xi said China will accelerate creating a new development pattern and pursue high-quality development.
"To build a modern socialist country in all respects, we must, first and foremost, pursue high-quality development," he said.
“We must fully and faithfully apply the new development philosophy on all fronts, continue reforms to develop the socialist market economy, promote high-standard opening up, and accelerate efforts to foster a new pattern of development that is focused on the domestic economy and features positive interplay between domestic and international economic flows," he added.
Xi said China will make sure that the implementation of the strategy to expand domestic demand is integrated with the efforts to deepen supply-side structural reform. Efforts will be made to boost the dynamism and reliability of the domestic economy while engaging at a higher level in the global economy.
The country will move faster to build a modernized economy, Xi said.
ALSO READ: 'China will never seek hegemony, engage in expansionism'
China will raise total factor productivity, make industrial and supply chains more resilient and secure, and promote integrated urban-rural development and coordinated regional development, so as to effectively upgrade and appropriately expand economic output, Xi said.
Efforts will be made to build a high-standard socialist market economy, Xi said. "We will work to see that the market plays the decisive role in resource allocation and that the government better plays its role."
The industrial system will be modernized, with measures to advance new industrialization, and boost China's strength in manufacturing, product quality, aerospace, transportation, cyberspace, and digital development, Xi said.
To advance rural revitalization across the board, China will continue to put agricultural and rural development first, consolidate and expand achievements in poverty alleviation, and reinforce the foundations for food security on all fronts.
China will thoroughly implement the coordinated regional development strategy, major regional strategies, the functional zoning strategy, and the new urbanization strategy, Xi said.
Science and education
Xi stressed invigorating China through science and education and developing a strong workforce for the modernization drive.
Education, science and technology, and human resources are the foundational and strategic pillars for building a modern socialist country in all respects, Xi said.
"We must regard science and technology as our primary productive force, talent as our primary resource, and innovation as our primary driver of growth," Xi said. "We will open up new areas and new arenas in development and steadily foster new growth drivers and new strengths."
To develop education that meets the people's expectations, China will move faster to build a high-quality educational system, advance students' well-rounded development, and promote fairness in education, Xi said.
Modernizing national security
Xi stressed modernizing China's national security system and capacity and safeguarding national security and social stability.
"National security is the bedrock of national rejuvenation, and social stability is a prerequisite for building a strong and prosperous China," said Xi.
"We must resolutely pursue a holistic approach to national security and promote national security in all areas and stages of the work of the Party and the country, so as to ensure national security and social stability," he said.
Xi said the CPC must take the people's security as its ultimate goal, political security as its fundamental task, economic security as its foundation, military, technological, cultural, and social security as important pillars, and international security as a support.
The Party will take coordinated steps to ensure external and internal security, homeland and public security, traditional and non-traditional security, as well as its own security and common security. "We will both uphold national security and create the conditions for ensuring it," he said.
The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China opens at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Oct 16, 2022. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
China will strengthen popular support for national security and social stability, improve the mechanisms for the country's participation in global security governance, and advance the Peaceful China Initiative to a higher level, Xi said.
"With this new security architecture, we will be able to better safeguard China's new pattern of development," he said.
Xi said the CPC will improve the national security system, strengthen its capacity for safeguarding national security, enhance public safety governance, and improve the social governance system.
China will ensure the security of food, energy, and resources as well as key industrial and supply chains, and protect the lawful rights and interests of Chinese citizens and legal entities overseas, he said.
Protection of personal information will be strengthened, Xi said.
"We will improve the social governance system based on collaboration, participation, and shared benefits, so as to make social governance more effective," he said.
Cultural strength
Xi called for building cultural confidence and strength and securing new successes in developing socialist culture.
"To build a modern socialist country in all respects, we must develop a socialist culture with Chinese characteristics and be more confident in our culture," Xi said.
In the efforts to turn China into a country with a strong socialist culture, the CPC will focus on upholding socialism with Chinese characteristics, rallying public support, fostering a new generation of young people, developing Chinese culture, and better presenting China to the world, he said.
The Party will develop a sound, people-oriented socialist culture for the nation that embraces modernization, the world, and the future, ignite the cultural creativity of the entire nation, and build a powerful source of inspiration for realizing national rejuvenation, Xi added.
"We should uphold the foundational system for ensuring the guiding role of Marxism in the ideological domain," he said, calling for continuously growing China's cultural soft power and the appeal of Chinese culture.