The Chinese leader reiterated that reunification with Taiwan, an island over which Beijing claims sovereignty, is a “historical inevitability,” after a year of heightened tensions in the Taiwan Strait and just days before a presidential election. on the island area.
Xi Jinping also stressed the need to “maintain long-term prosperity and stability” and “better integrate into the grand national development plan” of the semi-autonomous regions of Hong Kong and Macau.
“The control over the pandemic has been stabilized,” Xi recalled in his only reference to the end of the “zero Covid” policy early this year, after nearly three years of strict restrictions in that Asian country.
In his televised speech, the president assured that “China’s economy will continue to recover and improve” in 2023 and pointed to an “overflowing dynamic of development” in the country, citing as an example the strength of sales of domestically manufactured mobile phones. and the world’s second-largest economy’s progress in electric vehicle production.
As highlights of the year, Xi cited the first commercial flight of China’s C919 aircraft and the space missions in Shenzhou, which transported astronauts to China’s Tiangong space station.
On the other hand, the leader of the Asian giant referred to “people experiencing difficulties in work and life” and the areas of the country that have suffered natural disasters this year, such as floods or earthquakes, and assured “ to maintain that.” mind”.
At the international level, Xi noted that “there are still places in the world that are at war” and that the Chinese people are “very aware of the value of peace.” He therefore assured that his country “is ready to work together with the international community to promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.”
After a year in which he recovered his diplomatic activity, after two and a half years of isolation due to the ‘zero covid’ policy, and in which he met leaders of countries such as the United States, France, the European Union, Spain, Colombia or Brazil assured Xi Jinping that “China is not only developing, but also embracing the world and assuming the responsibility of a great power.”
Recalling that next year will mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese leader called for “deepening reform and opening up all aspects”, increasing “confidence in development” and strengthening “economic vitality” next year.
Source: DN
