BEIJING (AP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping used a high-profile address Wednesday to hold up his country’s swift industrialization as an alternative path forward for developing nations, projecting a sense of growing confidence both domestically and on the global stage.
Xi, now 14 years into his leadership, pointed out that China accomplished in just a few decades what took Western nations centuries to achieve.
“We advocate the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, providing Chinese wisdom, Chinese solutions and Chinese strength for addressing major issues facing humanity,” he said during an event celebrating the 105th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Communist Party.
China has long pushed back against U.S. dominance in global affairs. While Beijing has said it does not seek to replace the existing world order, it wants to reshape it to better reflect the interests of developing countries. Xi’s government went toe-to-toe with the U.S. last year, ultimately pressuring President Donald Trump to roll back import tariffs that had been placed on Chinese goods.
Xi told the audience that the world has entered a new era of instability and change, with humanity standing at a critical turning point. He renewed earlier commitments to build a new kind of international relationship aimed at fostering global peace and development.
The speech, delivered at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, echoed many of the same themes Xi raised at the party’s 100th anniversary celebration in 2021 — among them, the importance of a powerful military and the goal of bringing Taiwan under Chinese rule.
Xi stressed the need to accelerate the military’s development to reach world-class status, while keeping the armed forces firmly under Communist Party control. In recent years, a number of high-ranking generals have been ousted as part of an anti-corruption campaign, which many observers also view as an effort to ensure loyalty within the military ranks.
