CHINA PRESIDENT XI CALLS FOR 'GREAT RENAISSANCE'
BEIJING, March 17, 2013 (AFP) - China's newlyinstalled President Xi Jinping said Sunday he would fight for a “great renaissance of the Chinese nation”, in his first speech as head of state of the world's most populous country.
Xi called for “arduous efforts for the continued realisation of the great renaissance of the Chinese nation and the Chinese dream”, in a speech to delegates at the National People's Congress
Xi called for arduous efforts for the continued realisation of the great renaissance of the Chinese nation
(NPC) parliament meeting in Beijing.
Calls for such a revival in the world's second-largest economy have been a motif of Xi's speeches since he took the top post in China's ruling Communist Party in November, but he has not given a detailed account of the phrase's meaning.
He has close ties to China's expanding military and called for the armed forces to strengthen their ability to “win battles”.
Xi also touched on corruption, which infuriates the public and he has called a threat to the party's grip on power, and urged delegates to “oppose hedonism and flamboyant lifestyles”.
The speech formally brought the almost two-week long NPC meeting in Beijing's Great Hall of the People to a close, and was fol- lowed by China's new premier, Li Keqiang, stepping into spotlight for a rare news conference.
Li pledged to strengthen economic reforms, saying: “What the market can do, we should release more to the market, what society can do well, we should give to society. The government should be in charge of and manage well the issues that it ought to govern.”But he did not give any specific examples of planned changes.