Chinese leader largely sidesteps issues facing his country, but says it will always ‘advocate for peace and development’
Xi Jinping delivers his new year address.China “stands on the right side of history”, Xi Jinping said on Saturday in a new year address that came as questions are raised overSpeaking on national television from behind a desk in a wood-panelled office, the Chinese president largely avoided addressing issues confronting the country directly, pointing instead to successes in agricultural production, poverty elimination and its hosting of the Winter Olympics in February.
China will “always steadfastly advocate for peace and development … and unswervingly stands on the right side of history”, he said. His speech follows a U-turn on China’s hard-line Covid-19 containment policy that has sparked a surge in infections and demands from the US and others for travellers from China to prove they are not infected.is fighting its way out of the doldrums, spurring rising unemployment, while ties with the US and other major countries are at historic lows.
Xi, who is also head of the increasingly powerful armed forces, was given a third five-year term in October as head of the Communist party, which has almost 97 million members.