‘Great Wall of Steel’: Xi vowed to protect China’s economy and security | News from politics

Most powerful president since Mao Zedong at annual parliamentary session Economy and security are inseparable.

President Xi Jinping has promised to transform China’s military into a “Great Wall of Steel” capable of protecting China’s interests abroad, while emphasizing the need for greater stability and security at home.

Xi’s comments came in his closing address to the National People’s Congress, China’s parliament, where he secured unanimous support for an unprecedented third term last week.

Though Xi recently cemented his status as one of China’s most powerful leaders, he alluded to the many challenges China faces as it navigates a post-zero COVID landscape, a slowing economy and a more challenging relationship with the West, particularly to the United States, navigated .

“Security is the foundation of development, while stability is a prerequisite for prosperity,” Xi said Monday ahead of the gathering of 3,000 delegates.

He also stressed the need for an upgraded “national security system,” an upgraded “social governance system,” and protection of “China’s new development pattern with a new security architecture.”

The speech echoed similar concerns shared during the Communist Party’s 20th National Congress in October, when Xi used the word “security” 91 times, according to the US-based Brookings Institution.

“Security is the most important thing politically. Be [Xi’s] People can secure his position and then he can have many, many terms, even a lifetime term. Of course security is very, very important,” Alfred Muluan Wu, associate professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, told Al Jazeera.

“Outwardly, it’s very important that he tries to paint a picture that he wants people to think he can protect China. Therefore, in many of his documents or speeches, he always mentions that China is now actually surrounded by the hostile United States and also by their western allies, so they have to fight very, very hard for China.”

China is in the midst of a massive military modernization campaign that will be able to “effectively protect national sovereignty, security and development interests” when it ends in 2035, Xi said, when the armed forces become a “Great Wall of Steel.” .

Although there is still a decade to go, China, with its powerful People’s Liberation Army, military base and island-building in the South China Sea, already wields enormous influence in the region and determines domestic politics in neighboring countries from Cambodia to Micronesia.

The PLA plays an important role in China’s ongoing campaign to bring Taiwan back into its fold through either peaceful or violent “national reunification.”

Mentioning self-governing democracy in his speech on Monday, Xi called for an end to “separatist activities on Taiwan’s independence” as well as “external interference” in a thinly veiled reference to the US, Taiwan’s key military ally.

He also appeared to offer Taiwan the “one country, two systems” arrangement seen in Hong Kong and Macau, which in theory would allow some autonomy under Beijing’s rule, but in practice is a hugely unpopular offer for Taiwanese.

Xi’s “security” concerns also extend to the home front, where officials have set a modest target for gross domestic product (GDP) of just 5 percent in 2023, reflecting the continued impact of three years of the zero-COVID strategy.

China usually sees tens of thousands of protests over issues such as land grabs, but protests spread further in late 2022 as ordinary Chinese chaffed under the policies’ economic and social constraints.

The country also struggles with uneven development between urban and rural areas and growing wealth inequality.

However, Xi told delegates on Monday about China’s ongoing efforts to ensure the “great rejuvenation” of the Chinese nation for all citizens.

“The baton of building a great modern socialist country and pursuing national revitalization has historically been passed on to our generation,” he said, calling for efforts to “upgrade and appropriately expand the economy” by also focusing on areas such as science and technology as an industrial transformation that benefits the entire economy.