China’s President Xi Jinping used his New Year 2026 address to deliver a broadside on Taiwan: reunification with the mainland is an “unstoppable trend”, he said, underscoring that “The people on both sides of the strait are bound by blood ties thicker than water.”
If that was indeed the case, why did his military spend two days carrying out naval exercises and firing drills around the little island? As many as 200 fighter jets flew intimidatory missions and Taiwan reported 27 missiles being fired that hit near the coast. ,
The president’s address was beamed live nationwide on state media, and perhaps just to drive the point home, it was interspersed with images of China’s national day parade last September to mark the end of World War II. The parade featured top of the line military equipment including nuclear missiles.
Promises of Growth and Global Stability
He said the world was facing a period of “intertwined turbulence and transformation”, an indirect reminder of the tariff war, and promised that China would continue to stand on “the right side of history” and would work with other countries to promote peace, development and global cooperation.
In an article in Qiushi, the Communist Party’s main theoretical journal, Xi said China must secure the “strategic initiative” in global competition. Warning that the coming years would be important for the country’s future, he urged people to ” “remain confident, seize the momentum and steadily advance high-quality development”.
Confidence Amid Global Challenges
Xi said China was on track to meet its growth target of around 5 per cent for 2025, adding that GDP would reach nearly $20 trillion. This would provide a solid base for the 15th Five-Year Plan, which runs from 2026 to 2030.
He said the government would follow “more proactive macroeconomic policies” to keep growth at a healthy and reasonable level and to maintain social stability.
Technology was a major theme of the speech. Xi said China had become one of the world’s fastest-growing innovation economies. He pointed to progress in areas such as artificial intelligence, chip development, aerospace and military technology. These advances, he said, had lifted China’s scientific and technological strength to new heights.
Overall, Xi’s New Year messages aimed to reassure the country that China is moving forward steadily, with confidence in its economy, faith in technology and a clear sense of direction for the years ahead.
Research Associate at StratNewsGlobal, A keen observer of #China and Foreign Affairs. Writer, Weibo Trends, Analyst.
Twitter: @resham_sng
