Xi Asserts China’s Authority to Lead
China is set to be “a global leader in terms of comprehensive national strength and international influence” by 2050, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced on Oct. 17 as he addressed the country's Communist Party congress in Beijing.
Mr. Xi outlined his vision for providing global leadership using the Chinese Socialist Democracy model of growth.
International observers are calling the marathon three-and-a-half-hour speech to the party's 2,300 delegates and the world at large a "sweeping," "ambitious" and "epic" agenda.
President Xi's address is significant not only for its embrace of global economic integration at a time when many in the West are turning inward, but also because China is seen as adopting an increasingly more authoritarian approach to governing.
Since taking of...