Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a speech at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on July 1, 2026, marking the 105th anniversary of the ruling Chinese Communist Party.
Eunice Yoon | CNBC
BEIJING — Chinese President Xi Jinping used a Wednesday address commemorating the 105th anniversary of the Communist Party of China to underscore the party’s global reach, adopting a more internationally focused message than in some of his previous anniversary remarks.
Xi’s speech, which ran for roughly 40 minutes, marked a shift from earlier addresses on comparable occasions, which tended to center more heavily on China’s domestic agenda and the theme of “national rejuvenation.”
The Chinese Communist Party has “deeply changed the trend and trajectory of the world’s development through relentless struggle,” Xi said, according to CNBC’s translation of his Mandarin-language remarks.
Xi, who also serves as the party’s general secretary, called the CCP “the world’s largest ruling party with significant global influence.” He said the party had led China in overthrowing imperialism, feudalism and bureaucratic capitalism, creating the conditions for the country’s industrialization.
Founded on July 1, 1921, the CCP went on to establish the People’s Republic of China on Oct. 1, 1949. China’s economy began gradually opening to foreign investment and trade only in recent decades, and in 2010 it became the world’s second-largest economy.
Today, China produces about 28% of the world’s manufactured goods, even as it faces tariffs from the United States and the European Union.
Building on his frequently used phrase “changes not seen in a century,” Xi said Wednesday that those shifts were accelerating, and that “the world has entered a new era of turbulence and transformation.”
Against that backdrop, Xi said China would “promote the building of a new type of international relations,” but did not identify specific countries.
Xi is scheduled to visit the U.S. in September following President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing in May.
“A strong country must have a strong military, and only a strong military can ensure national security,” Xi said on Wednesday.
China will raise defense spending by 7% this year, the slowest increase in its annual military expenditure since 2021, according to a budget plan released in March by the Ministry of Finance. The country ranks second to the U.S. in military spending.
Xi, now serving an unprecedented third term as president, also used the speech to bolster confidence in long-term national goals.
The Chinese leader reiterated opposition to “Taiwan independence” efforts and “external interference” in the issue, adding that “resolving the Taiwan issue and realizing complete reunification with the motherland is the party’s unwavering historical responsibility.”
On Hong Kong and Macau, Xi called for “promoting the long-term prosperity and stability,” while noting the need to support the integration of the two regions into serving China’s overall development.
