Chinese President Xi Jinping reaffirmed his resolve for "Taiwan unification" on the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. As this year marks the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), he focused on internal unity, party discipline, and strengthening military power, but unlike five years ago, he did not issue hard-line remarks directly targeting the United States and other Western countries.
According to China's state-run Xinhua News Agency, Xi said in a speech at the ceremony marking the 105th anniversary of the party's founding on the morning of the 1st at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, "We will resolutely strike at the Taiwan independence separatist forces and oppose interference by external forces," adding, "We must firmly advance the great cause of Cho Kuk unification."
The event is a commemorative conference held every July 1, the anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, and this year, as a five-year milestone and the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, it is seen as a watershed for gauging China's future economic and political course.
Xi said, "Resolving the Taiwan issue and realizing the complete unification of Cho Kuk is a historic mission our party has consistently pursued and a shared aspiration of all Chinese sons and daughters," and argued that the "one China" principle and the "1992 consensus" (the 1992 agreement to acknowledge "one China" while allowing each side to use its own terminology) must be upheld
On Hong Kong and Macao, he reaffirmed the stance of unwaveringly maintaining the "one country, two systems" principle. Xi said, "We should carry out the policy of a high degree of autonomy, enhance governance efficiency in accordance with the rule of law in Hong Kong and Macao, promote economic and social development, and support Hong Kong and Macao in better integrating into and contributing to the overall framework of national development."
He again stressed the goal of strengthening military power. Xi said, "We must build the People's Liberation Army into a world-class military as soon as possible," adding, "To become a strong country, we must have a strong military. We will uphold the party's absolute leadership over the people's military and comprehensively advance the building of a strong military through politics, reform, science and technology, and talent."
Xi also reaffirmed the will to establish party discipline and fight corruption within the party. He said, "We must resolutely eliminate all elements that undermine the party's advancement and purity and eradicate all 'viruses' that erode the party's healthy body," adding that he would continue to push comprehensive and strict party governance.
By contrast, there were no remarks directly aimed at checking the United States and the West. Five years ago at the 100th anniversary event, there was a hard-line remark targeting the United States that said, "If you bully China, your head will be bashed and bleed," but this speech contained no warnings and did not include expressions such as "unilateralism" or "hegemony," which had often been mentioned on other official occasions. This is interpreted as placing more weight on emphasizing the continuity of core policies and internal unity ahead of the launch of the 15th Five-Year Plan rather than delivering a hard-line external message.
Meanwhile, the event also included the conferment of the party's highest honor, the "July 1 Medal," along with commendations for outstanding Communist Party members nationwide, outstanding party affairs workers, and advanced grassroots party organizations. The July 1 Medal began to be awarded in 2021, the 100th anniversary of the party's founding, and is awarded every five years to selected outstanding party members.