Xi Jinping on December 31.
Photographer: Yao Dawei / Xinhua / Getty Images
Photographer: Yao Dawei / Xinhua / Getty Images
President Xi Jinping gave an unusually optimistic assessment of China’s future, noting that “time and the situation” were on the side of the country in a new year marked by domestic unrest in the US.
The Chinese leader told a meeting of provincial and ministerial-level officials on Monday that he “saw opportunities generally outweigh challenges,” a marked shift from his sometimes dire warnings of recent months. While repeating an often-used allusion to the challenges of President Donald Trump’s “America First” policy, he expressed new confidence that China would win in the long run.
“The world is undergoing profound changes that have not been seen in a century, but the time and the situation are in our favor,” Xi said during the study session at the Communist Party School, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. “This is where our determination and confidence come from.”
Xi’s optimistic comments come amid an economic recovery at home and historic turmoil in Washington. In addition to the chaos in Capitol Hill last week and the worsening coronavirus outbreak in America, a forecast was published last month by the Center for Economics and Business Research expects China to overtake the US as the world’s largest dollar economy by 2028, five years earlier than a year ago.
In similar comments in 2020, Xi highlighted “unprecedented risks and challenges” as the coronavirus hit China and bilateral ties with the US plunged to all-time low, with disputes over everything from the pandemic and trade to Taiwan and Hong Kong.
On Monday, Xi urged provincial officials, as they prepare to approve another round of five-year plans at their annual legislative meetings, to remain “humble and cautious,” Xinhua said. He said efforts were needed to raise awareness of potential dangers, consider worst-case scenarios, and learn to deal with more complex and difficult situations.
The legislative sessions are part of a long chain of events as Xi prepares to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the ruling party’s founding in July. Xi also reiterated his call to the country to be more self-sufficient in technological innovation while building a “super-sized domestic market” to boost consumption.
– With the help of Lucille Liu and Jing Li