Xi's address conveys hope, confidence

China will continue to inject positive energy into globalization, observers say

The New Year speech of President Xi Jinping on Saturday showed China's remarkable achievements in the past year, conveyed hope and injected positive energy into promoting the healthy development of globalization, international observers have said.

Dennis Munene, executive director of the China-Africa Center at the Africa Policy Institute, said the speech was full of hope for a better future. While Xi acknowledged the challenges faced in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and various natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods, China continues to brim with vigor and vitality.

He noted that Xi reaffirmed China's commitment and gains in poverty elimination and advances in rural revitalization. To achieve the tremendous "miracle" of lifting more than 800 million people out of extreme poverty, China introduced tax and fee cuts to ease the burden on businesses and solved the most pressing needs of its people.

"Thus, Africa needs to borrow this lesson from China on promoting ease of doing business and reducing the exorbitant taxes currently burdening the investors to foster regional reintegration and ensure the success of the African Continental Free Trade Area," Munene said.

Moreover, Xi reminded the youth to nurture enterprise skills and live their youth with great drive to prove worthy of the times and splendor of the youth, while keeping their country in mind.

"This will help them avoid any negative influence or being used by proponents of instability who want to destabilize global peace and stability," he said. "Indeed, President Xi through his speech shows his statesmanship and foresight, and 2023 will be a year of growth and sustainable development in all aspects for the Chinese people and the world at large."

Nigerian scholar Kayode Ogunbunmi said President Xi's speech is both a fitting tribute to the illustrious past leaders of modern China and an exhortation to present leaders and the youth to uphold the legacy of modernization and all-encompassing prosperity and poverty reduction.

"In other words, as President Xi stated, the main task at the moment is the advancement of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization," Ogunbunmi said.

Ogunbunmi also said Xi laid out several broad road maps for the Chinese nation as it engages the rest of the world with a mutually beneficial, win-win framework. Among these is the need for China to continue to play to its strengths to sustain long-term growth plans. Despite headwinds such as the pandemic, natural disasters, instability in major trading zones across the world and increasing protectionism in the West, China continues to become stronger.

Xi's address also contains a message of goodwill to all, including both China and foreign nations. While recognizing the multiplurality of views in a country of 1.4 billion people, he emphasized the importance of building consensus through communication and consultation, Ogunbunmi said.

Own modernization path

China's strength, Ogunbunmi said, comes from its unity and this is aptly demonstrated in the relationship between the Chinese mainland and the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions. Xi also noted that people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits are members of one and the same family.

Ang Teck Sin, a political commentator in Singapore, said Xi's New Year speech was warm, powerful, hopeful and inspiring. He said it touched on China's remarkable achievements and once again demonstrated the firm determination of the country to pursue a Chinese path to modernization through its own efforts, adding that China has injected positive energy into promoting the healthy development of globalization.

After listening to Xi's New Year speech, Serik Korzhumbayev, editor-in-chief of the Delovoy Kazakhstan newspaper, said the achievements of the Chinese people in 2022 were remarkable.

Against the backdrop of the pandemic, China has optimized and adjusted its prevention and control measures in light of the time and situation, putting its people first and protecting their lives and health to the greatest extent, and ensuring economic and social development, he said.

Xinhua contributed to this story.