BEIJING: President Xi Jinping (pic) called on the whole nation to work hard for an even brighter future, saying that China will deepen reform and opening up across the board, strive to attain better performance of the economy and keep improving the living standards of the people in 2023.
Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, greeted people of all ethnic groups, compatriots in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, and overseas Chinese while addressing a reception in Beijing ahead of the Lunar New Year, which falls on Sunday.
He reviewed the country’s achievements over the past year, including the successful hosting of the 20th CPC National Congress, the growth of China’s economy, a bumper grain harvest and the stability in the job market and commodity prices.
China has kept optimising its Covid-19 response measures, making the utmost efforts in protecting the safety and health of the people and minimising the impacts from the pandemic on the economy and society, he said.
He also mentioned the success of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics, the prosperity and stability in the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and the progress in major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics, which injected stability into a turbulent global landscape.
China’s GDP expanded 3% year-on-year in 2022 to 121.02 trillion yuan (RM76.8 trillion) despite challenges from geopolitical tensions, rising global downside risks and Covid-19 outbreaks. The nation also created 12.06 million new urban jobs, surpassing the preset task of 11 million, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
Xi attributed the nation’s hard-won achievements over the past year to the hard work by the Party and the people.
“It has been proved that no challenge can sway our ironclad will and no difficulty can stand in the way of our forceful steps forward, as long as the Party and the people always stand together, put their minds together and work together,” he said. — China Daily/ANN
