Xi’s National Day Week: Ceremony and Continuity
General Secretary Xi Jinping presided over a week of state ceremonies marking the 77th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, delivering a National Day address and leading the annual Martyrs’ Day tribute in Beijing, according to a weekly roundup published by People’s Daily on October 5. The September 28 to October 4 period was dominated by symbolic events rather than policy meetings, reflecting the standardized rhythm of China’s political calendar around October 1.
Two Receptions Mark the Holiday
The week opened on the evening of September 28 with a National Day reception at the Great Hall of the People, jointly hosted by the General Office of the CPPCC National Committee, the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, the Taiwan Affairs Office, and the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese. Wang Huning, Standing Committee member and CPPCC Chairman, delivered the address, while Politburo member Wang Yi presided over the event. Approximately 750 representatives from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and overseas Chinese communities attended.
Wang framed the year through two anniversaries—the 105th founding of the Communist Party of China and the 77th founding of the PRC—and described the “15th Five-Year Plan” period as critical for basically realizing socialist modernization. He restated commitments to “One Country, Two Systems,” the one-China principle and the “1992 Consensus,” and the Party’s overseas Chinese policy.
A second reception followed on the evening of September 30, where Xi himself took the podium. “As long as we firm up our confidence, anchor our goals, and move forward steadily step by step, success will surely belong to the great Communist Party of China, the great Chinese people, and the great People’s Republic of China,” Xi said, according to CPC News.
Martyrs’ Day Tribute at Tiananmen
Earlier on September 30, Xi joined Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi, and Han Zheng at Tiananmen Square for the Martyrs’ Day wreath-laying ceremony, held before the Monument to the People’s Heroes. At 10:00 a.m. the military band played the national anthem, the assembly observed a moment of silence, and 18 honor guards carried nine large wreaths—representing the Party, state, military, united front, and people’s organizations—whose red ribbons read “The People’s Heroes Are Immortal,” according to a Xinhua report.
Xi stepped forward to arrange the ribbons before the leaders bowed and walked around the monument to pay their respects. The ceremony was presided over by Yin Li, Politburo member and Beijing Party Secretary.
A Calendar of Symbolism
The week’s events carry layered meaning. Both the 105th CPC anniversary and the 90th anniversary of the Long March victory are invoked repeatedly in official framing—the Xinhua report explicitly ties the “new Long March” to national rejuvenation goals under “Chinese-style modernization.” This is more than rhetorical flourish: 2026 is the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, a period officially designated as pivotal for the goal of basically realizing socialist modernization by 2035.
That overlap partly explains the week’s shape. Around National Day, Beijing’s calendar predictably prioritizes ceremonial reaffirmation—wreath-layings, receptions, and unity messaging—over new policy rollouts. The receptions’ emphasis on Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and overseas Chinese communities also reflects the continued centrality of united-front work in the leadership’s agenda.
What to Watch
The People’s Daily roundup itself is a standard, routinely produced feature—a video-led digest sourced from CCTV News and republished by outlets including Guangming Daily. Its timing, on the morning of October 5, places it at the close of the holiday window.
For observers, the more substantive signals will come in the weeks that follow, as the leadership returns to regular work and begins translating 15th Five-Year Plan priorities into concrete directives. The ceremonial week establishes tone and consensus; the policy season that follows will reveal how that consensus is operationalized. Whether the unity themes struck during National Day translate into specific initiatives on Hong Kong governance, cross-strait affairs, or economic targets remains the central question to watch.