Xi Marks 77 Years of the PRC With Unity Call

Chinese President Xi Jinping marked the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China with a reception speech in Beijing on the evening of September 30, calling for firm confidence, steady economic progress and the advance of “national rejuvenation.” Premier Li Qiang presided over the event at the Great Hall of the People, which drew roughly 800 Chinese and foreign guests, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

The Event

The reception took place one day before National Day on October 1 and the start of the week-long “Golden Week” holiday. The banquet hall was decorated with the national emblem above the stage and the numerals “1949-2026” set against a red flag. Leaders entered at about 5:30 p.m. to the strains of the “Welcome March,” followed by the national anthem, “March of the Volunteers.”

Joining Xi were Politburo Standing Committee members Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi and Han Zheng. Attendees spanned central party, military and state officials, representatives of democratic parties and minority groups, national award recipients, model workers, and Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and overseas Chinese representatives, alongside foreign ambassadors and international experts.

The Speech

In an address released in full by Xinhua, Xi said that over 77 years the Communist Party had led the people in creating “two miracles” — rapid economic development and long-term social stability — and had achieved the first centenary goal of building a “moderately prosperous society.” China is now advancing toward the second centenary goal of building a “great modern socialist country,” he said.

“Through long-term exploration and practice, the socialist system with Chinese characteristics has demonstrated great advantages… and the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is unstoppable,” Xi said, according to an English rendering published by the Global Times.

On the economy, Xi said 2026 had seen the country “compile and implement the 15th Five-Year Plan,” referring to the 2026-2030 blueprint that frames China’s medium-term economic strategy. He described the economy as having “advanced under pressure” and “demonstrated strong resilience and vitality,” and called for it to continue moving toward “new and better” development.

The opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan has served as a central organizing theme for Beijing, with the leadership seeking a “good start” to the five-year period even as growth faces external headwinds. Xi emphasized balancing development and security, deepening reform and opening up, and “better safeguarding and improving people’s livelihoods.”

Cross-Strait and Foreign Policy

Xi reiterated that China would uphold the “one country, two systems” framework for Hong Kong and Macau, supporting their integration into the country’s broader development.

On Taiwan, he said Beijing would “deepen cross-strait exchanges and cooperation, resolutely combat ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces, oppose external interference, and advance the peaceful development of cross-strait relations and the great cause of national reunification.”

On foreign policy, Xi pledged to maintain an “independent foreign policy of peace,” to advance implementation of the “Four Global Initiatives” — the development, security, civilization and governance proposals that anchor Beijing’s stated global vision — and to promote “a community with a shared future for mankind.” He said China would aim to inject “more certainty and positive energy” into an unsettled world.

Timing and Context

The speech carried added weight because it was Xi’s first major public address to the nation since his state visit to the United States on September 23-25, his first US state visit in more than a decade. According to an analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, that summit produced “minimal progress beyond general agreement” on tariff treatment and the announcement of a new dialogue on artificial intelligence, while leaving major disputes over Taiwan, rare earths and advanced semiconductors unresolved.

Analysts at CSIS described the US-China relationship as resting on a “fragile” truce, noting that competition over technology, trade leverage and Taiwan persists beneath the symbolic stability. Xi’s National Day remarks — reaffirming sovereignty positions on Taiwan and an assertive foreign policy vision — did not signal a shift from those underlying stances.

The reception also came hours after a morning Martyrs’ Day ceremony on September 30, when Xi and other leaders laid floral baskets at the Monument to the People’s Heroes in Tiananmen Square, continuing a tradition of pairing the two observances.

Broader international coverage has framed the address as a confidence signal. BBC Chinese reported that the recently concluded US summit yielded more dialogue but “changed almost no major decisions,” with the most contentious issues — from advanced technology to Taiwan — left unresolved, underscoring the value Beijing places on projecting steady, controlled messaging at home.

Analysis

The reception served several purposes at once. Domestically, it reinforced the narrative of continuity and achievement as the 15th Five-Year Plan begins. Regionally, the emphasis on cross-strait policy restated a position that has become a recurring theme in China’s diplomacy. And internationally, the speech projected stability at a moment of persistent US-China friction.

Notably, the address touched the familiar pillars of Beijing’s messaging — economic resilience, national rejuvenation, Hong Kong and Macau under “one country, two systems,” opposition to “Taiwan independence,” and an independent foreign policy — without announcing new initiatives. That restraint itself may be the signal: a leadership projecting confidence in its existing course rather than a change of direction.

What to Watch

Attention now turns to a Communist Party plenum expected later in October, which analysts expect to elaborate on economic and policy priorities tied to the 15th Five-Year Plan. How the leadership translates the reception’s broad themes into concrete measures — particularly on growth targets, reform and cross-strait policy — will be the next test of the confidence Xi projected.

For now, the anniversary message was one of continuity. “As long as we hold firm confidence, stay focused on our goals, and take solid steps forward one at a time,” Xi said, “success will surely belong to the great Communist Party of China, the great Chinese people, and the great People’s Republic of China.”