Hong Kong, Taiwan and zero Covid policy: What Xi Jinping said at key party meet

With aplomb, China’s president Xi Jinping highlighted China’s growing strength and rising influence in the world during a speech at the opening session of the 20th Chinese Communist party’s congress.

Describing the past five years as “highly unusual and extraordinary,” Xi Jinping said that the party led China and its people through “a grim and complex international situation” and “huge risks and challenges that came one after another.”

Xi Jinping highlighted Covid-19 pandemic, Hong Kong and Taiwan as the major challenges that the country faced.

China has come out victorious on all of these issues as it has “maximumly protected people’s lives and health” from Covid, turned Hong Kong from “chaos to governance,” and demonstrated its “firm determination and strong ability to safeguard national sovereignty” and “oppose Taiwan independence,” Xi Jinping asserted.

Focussing on China’s place in the world, Xi Jinping underscored “rapid changes in the international situation” and applauded China’s assertive approach, saying it has “carried forward the spirit of struggle” and “upheld national dignity and core interests in the struggle.”

Xi Jinping also said that China has achieved comprehensive control over Hong Kong, turning it from chaos to governance adding that the country waged a major struggle against Taiwan separatism and is determined and able to oppose territorial integrity.

On crackdown on corruption, Xi Jinping said that he had eliminated “serious latent dangers” within the country’s ruling Communist Party and military.

“The fight against corruption has won an overwhelming victory and has been comprehensively consolidated, eliminating serious latent dangers within the party, the state and the military,” Xi said.

Xi Jinping also said that China will continue its unwavering support for private economy and allow the market to play a decisive role in resource allocation.