China “stands on the right side of history”, Xi Jinping said on Saturday in a new year address that came as questions are raised over his government’s handling of Covid-19 and economic and political challenges at home and abroad.
Speaking on national television from behind a desk in a wood-panelled office, the Chinese president largely avoided addressing issues confronting the country directly, pointing instead to successes in agricultural production, poverty elimination and its hosting of the Winter Olympics in February.
He later turned somewhat obliquely to the challenges facing the world’s most populous country and second-largest economy, saying: “The world is not at peace.”
China will “always steadfastly advocate for peace and development … and unswervingly stands on the right side of history”, he said.
The have been street protests against Xi’s government in recent weeks, the first the ruling Communist party has faced in more than three decades.
His speech follows a U-turn on China’s hard-line Covid-19 containment policy that has sparked a surge in infections and demands from the US and others for travellers from China to prove they are not infected.
The Chinese economy is fighting its way out of the doldrums, spurring rising unemployment, while ties with the US and other major countries are at historic lows.
Setting aside their uncertainty, people in Beijing and other cities have returned to work, shopping areas and restaurants, with consumers preparing for January’s lunar new year holiday, the most significant in the Chinese calendar.
Xi, who is also head of the increasingly powerful armed forces, was given a third five-year term in October as head of the Communist party, which has almost 97 million members.
Having sidelined potential rivals and eliminated all limits on his terms in office, he could serve as China’s leader for the rest of his life.
China has also come under pressure for its continued support for Russia, and on Friday Xi held a virtual meeting with the country’s president, Vladimir Putin, in which he was quoted as describing the events in Ukraine as a crisis.
The term marked a departure from China’s usual references to the “Ukraine situation”, and may reflect growing concern in Beijing about the direction of the conflict.
Xi was careful, however, to reiterate support for Moscow. China has pledged a “no limits” friendship with Moscow and has not blamed Putin for the conflict, while attacking the US and Nato and condemning punishing economic sanctions imposed on Russia.
