President Xi Jinping speaks at a gathering in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday in celebration of the upcoming Lunar New Year. About 1,000 people from all walks of life attended the event. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

President Xi Jinping reaffirmed on Wednesday the importance of implementing the new development philosophy and building the new development paradigm of "dual circulation" based on the requirements of the new development stage in the new year, and he called for consistent efforts to strive for the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

This year marks the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remark in his address to a gathering in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in celebration of Spring Festival, or Lunar New Year, which falls on Friday. About 1,000 representatives from all walks of life participated in the gathering.

He extended his festival greetings and best wishes to people of all ethnic groups throughout the country, to compatriots in the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and Taiwan, as well as to overseas Chinese around the world.

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Xi reviewed the achievements China made in the past year despite many internal and external challenges amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the country took the lead in the world in controlling the spread of COVID-19 and in securing economic growth, and it has met the target of eradicating absolute poverty in rural areas as scheduled.

Joint construction of the Belt and Road has made solid progress and advances in building a community with a shared future for mankind have been internationally acclaimed, he added.

Practice has proved that the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics enjoys strong vitality and creativity, and the Chinese nation has strong unity and solidarity, Xi said.

Party and state leaders Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji, Han Zheng and Wang Qishan attend a Chinese Lunar New Year reception at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, on Feb 10, 2021. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

This year marks the centenary of the founding of the CPC. Xi said it is a landmark in the history of the Party, the country and Chinese civilization to realize the first centenary goal of completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

"Meanwhile, we must be aware that (the achievement) is only a significant step toward the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation," he said.

Xi urged the nation to not be self-satisfied and to keep working hard toward realizing the second centenary goal of building China into a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious by the middle of the 21st century, and to make greater contributions to the sacred undertaking of human peace and development.

He hailed the CPC as the world's largest Marxist ruling party, with more than 91 million members, and said it has ruled the biggest socialist country for seven decades and more, and has won acclaim and support from 1.4 billion Chinese people.

"We should seriously review the journeys that we have made, bear in mind where we came from and continue marching forward," Xi said, urging the whole Party to firm up its beliefs, keep the Party's founding mission in mind and stay rooted in the people.

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"As long as the whole Party and the people of all ethnic groups across the country get closely united around the CPC Central Committee, no difficulties will overwhelm us and nothing will undermine our firm efforts to rejuvenate the Chinese nation," he said.

In the new year, Xi said, efforts should be made to coordinate development and security, to keep consolidating the results of epidemic prevention and control and socioeconomic development to make a good start of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period.

As the new year is the year of the ox, a creature seen as a symbol of diligence, earnestness and dedication in Chinese culture, Xi called for carrying on in the spirit of the ox to continue to make every effort to realize national rejuvenation and create new glory in the new era.