China must redouble efforts to ensure stability and bolstering self-reliance, President Xi Jinping told lawmakers in a speech to mark the start of his precedent-breaking third term.
“Security is the foundation for development, and stability is the precondition for prosperity,” Xi said Monday to close out the annual National People’s Congress. He vowed to oppose foreign interference on Taiwan, a veiled reference to increasing American support for the democratically elected government in Taipei.
The remarks cap a yearlong reshuffle that has demonstrated Xi’s dominance over the nation of 1.4 billion people, overhauling the government and placing allies in key positions.