BEIJING (Dispatches) - Chinese President Xi Jinping struck a defiant tone during a major address celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Beijing on Thursday.
Xi made the remarks during a speech at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, as celebrations to mark 100 years since the founding of the ruling party got underway in the Chinese capital.
Xi said the “era of China being bullied is gone forever,” as he stood at the Gate of Heavenly Peace above a portrait of Mao Zedong, adding that, “No one should underestimate the Chinese nation’s will and power to fight against foreign power.”
“We will not accept sanctimonious preaching from those who feel they have the right to lecture us,” he said. “We have never bullied, oppressed, or subjugated the people of any other country, and we never will.”
“By the same token, we will never allow anyone to bully, oppress, or subjugate [China]. Anyone who tries will find them on a collision course with a steel wall forged by 1.4 billion people.”
Xi further hailed the ruling party’s successes since its founding in 1921, saying it had lifted China out of poverty and restored national pride.
“We eliminated the exploitative feudal system that had persisted in China for thousands of years and established socialism,” he said.
“Only socialism could save China and only socialism with Chinese characteristics could develop China,” he added.
Xi further said the party had brought about “national rejuvenation” by lifting tens of millions from poverty and “altered the landscape of world development.”
The “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has entered an irreversible historical course,” he said, and pledged to continue to build a “world-class” military to defend national interests.
The Chinese president also warned that any attempt to separate the ruling party and the people was “bound to fail,” and said the party had achieved its goal of building a “moderately prosperous society in all respects.”