President looks to a fruitful 2022
Xi says China ‘ready’ for Olympics as analysts hail his New Year speech as inspirational
President Xi Jinping stressed the need for continued efforts to realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, as he hailed various achievements over the past year and said he looks forward to more accomplishments in 2022, including successful hosting of the Beijing Winter Olympics.
In his New Year address, Xi also urged the international community to promote unity, solidarity and cooperation to write a new chapter in building a community with a shared future for mankind.
In the speech on Dec 31, Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said 2021 was of “exceptional significance” to China as the country witnessed landmark events in the history of the Party and the State.
At the historical convergence of the Two Centenary Goals, the country has set out on a new journey of building a modern socialist country in all respects and is making confident strides on the path toward the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, Xi said.
The past year witnessed a resilient and dynamic China, a country with its amicable and respectable people, a country developing rapidly with each passing day, and a country making continual progress in all its undertakings, he said.
Xi recalled the celebration of the centenary of the Party on July 1, and underlined the importance of remaining true to the Party’s founding mission.
“Only through vigorous and determined endeavor can we fulfill our responsibility to history, prove worthy of our times and live up to people’s expectations,” he said.
Xi pointed out that realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation will be no easy task that will happen overnight or through sheer fanfare.
“We must always keep a long-term perspective, remain mindful of potential risks, maintain strategic focus and determination, and ‘attain to the broad and great while addressing the delicate and minute’,” he said.
Xi talked about his inspection tours nationwide in the past year, saying “every time I visit people in their homes, I would ask if they have any more difficulties, and I would remember everything my folks have to share with me.”
He said that realization of a moderately prosperous society in all respects and elimination of extreme poverty is what the CPC has delivered to the people, and it is also a contribution to the world.
“To ensure that everyone leads a better life, we must never rest on what we have achieved, and there is still a long way to go.”
The president highlighted the nation’s efforts in ecological conservation, emphasizing “if we do not fail Nature, Nature shall never fail us”.
Xi commended people from all walks of life who made contributions to the country’s development and the COVID-19 response, saying that the hard work and dedication of countless unsung heroes have all added to the great momentum of China’s march forward in the new era.
Noting that the prosperity and stability of the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions are always close to the heart of the motherland, Xi stressed that “only with unity and concerted efforts can we ensure sound implementation of One Country, Two Systems in the long run”.
While saying that the complete reunification of the motherland is an aspiration shared by people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits, he expressed his hope that all the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation will join forces to create a brighter future for the nation.
Ringing in 2022, Xi said that China is ready to present a great Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games to the world.
The world is turning its eyes to China for the upcoming event, and the nation is “ready”, he said.
“We will spare no efforts to present a great Games to the world,” he pledged.
Analysts hailed Xi’s address, saying the Chinese president gave hope to the world that 2022 will be a better year, with major challenges to be tackled together and opportunities shared.
Xi’s speech has shown China’s responsibility as a major country to advance global peace and development, and its resolve and actions to promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, according to experts and officials from around the world.
French writer and sinologist Lea Bessis said she agreed with Xi’s remark that “only through unity, solidarity and cooperation can countries around the world write a new chapter in building a community with a shared future for mankind”.
It shows China’s firm resolve to promote global peace and development, she said.
In his message, Xi underlined the efforts of the Chinese people in building socialism with Chinese characteristics and a community with a shared future for mankind, said Karori Singh, former director and emeritus fellow of the South Asia Studies Centre at India’s University of Rajasthan.
Xi’s message was full of applause for the commitment and optimism of the nation under the CPC’s leadership, “which has successfully led the nation by representing and accomplishing the aspirations of the people,” the professor said.
Singh said Xi’s remark about having worked in the countryside and knowing “precisely what poverty feels like” shows the Chinese leadership’s sensitive approach toward the people.
Pui Jeng Leong, a media veteran in Brunei, said China has achieved a comprehensive victory in eliminating absolute poverty, which is not only a Chinese miracle but also a major contribution to worldwide poverty reduction and global development.
He expressed his appreciation for Xi’s remarks about China’s contribution to global anti-pandemic cooperation, adding that the friendship and cooperation between Brunei and China in the joint fight against COVID-19 has set an example of mutual assistance.
“China has maintained a steady global influence and (received) acknowledgment for its contribution to fighting COVID-19,” said Dicky Budiman, an epidemiologist at Griffith University in Australia, in response to Xi’s address.
Budiman noted that China’s vaccines and other international assistance have contributed to global efforts to deal with the pandemic, especially in Asia and Africa.
Phay Siphan, chief spokesman for the Cambodian government, said Xi’s speech reflects China’s commitment to building a modern socialist country.
“Xi’s speech inspires people around the world to love peace, to jointly protect peace, and to work together for common development and prosperity toward building a community with a shared future for mankind,” he told Xinhua.
Mustafa Hyder Sayed, executive director of the Pakistan-China Institute, an Islamabad-based think tank, said Xi’s speech reinforces the view that a multilateral world order is the only way forward. The concept of unipolarity and a Cold War mindset are outdated.
“After taking into account the accomplishments and successes of the Chinese people both inside China and outside China, President Xi has given a way forward for the Chinese nation, the developing world and the world at large, by giving hope and creating the vision of a shared future,” Sayed said.
The president’s speech “reflected the great journey that has been accomplished by the Communist Party of China in achieving a moderately prosperous society, fulfilling the first centenary goal and also bouncing back from the COVID-19 pandemic in which China has fared very well”, he said.
Gerald Mbanda, a researcher and publisher on China and Africa, said that Xi’s speech has given confidence to people around the world, especially those in the developing world, that in China they have a reliable partner in the fight against the pandemic.
“Whereas the rich nations are practicing vaccine hoarding and vaccine nationalism, creating a huge vaccine gap between rich and poor nations, China deserves a pat on the back for leading the global fight against COVID-19 by providing more than 2 billion vaccine doses to more than 120 countries and international organizations,” he said.
Dennis Munene, executive director of the China-Africa Center at the Africa Policy Institute in Nairobi, said that President Xi, in looking ahead to the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, confirmed China’s readiness to host the events, while affirming the country’s commitment to spare no effort to ensure their success.
“Indeed, China’s mastery in global diplomacy has made ‘the world turn its eyes on China’ and as President Xi categorically declared, ‘China is ready’,” he said.
Mbanda said that Xi’s speech made clear that the Games will provide an opportunity to unite the planet, and that China is ready to give the best of the Winter Olympics to the world.
“Efforts by some Western countries led by the United States to announce a diplomatic boycott of the Games only serve to politicize the Games and create a Cold War mentality based on unfounded allegations,” he said.
Duan Yuezhong, chief editor of The Duan Press in Japan, said: “Having been engaged in the publishing industry for a long time, I deeply feel that only by understanding the Communist Party of China can someone really understand China.”
Salman Bashir, a former foreign secretary of Pakistan and former ambassador to China, described Xi’s New Year speech as an inspirational one that puts in perspective the great achievements of the Chinese people.
Under the leadership of the CPC, the Chinese are “dream chasing” the rejuvenation of their nation on all fronts, from sports to outer space, he noted.