Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses the New Year gathering hosted by the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing. AP
During his New Year’s Eve address broadcast Wednesday evening by state media, Xi praised the country’s advancements in key sectors, including military tech and space exploration. Images ranging from humanoid robots performing kung fu to new hydropower projects rolled on the screen as he spoke.
“We sought to energise high-quality development through innovation,” Xi said while thanking the Chinese people for contributing to the country’s economic growth over the past five years.
China plans its economic development over five-year periods and is preparing to discuss its new five-year plan at the upcoming legislative session in March.
The country is poised to accelerate its self-reliance in science and technology as the United States imposes increasingly stringent controls on access to semiconductors and other high-tech items.
Xi also praised the country’s rising prominence on the world stage by listing high-level political events and exchanges it hosted over the past year.
Regarding Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy that China considers sovereign territory, Xi reiterated Beijing’s annexation intentions.
“We Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait share a bond of blood and kinship,” he said. “The reunification of our motherland, a trend of the times, is unstoppable.”
China this week conducted two days of military drills around Taiwan, launching rockets and sending aircraft and warships in response to a planned arms sale by the U.S. to the island.
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te condemned the drills but said his territory would act responsibly by neither escalating the conflict nor provoking disputes.
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