Chinese leader Xi Jinping says his country is on the “right side of history' in a New Year's address that comes as questions swirl over his government's handling of COVID-19 and economic and political challenges.
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a New Year address in Beijing, Saturday, Dec. 31, 2022. China"stands on the right side of history," the country's leader Xi Jinping said Saturday in a New Year's address that came as questions swirl over his government's handling of COVID-19 and economic and political challenges at home and abroad.
China will “always steadfastly advocate for peace and development ... and unswervingly stands on the right side of history,” he said. Xi’s speech follows a stunning U-turn on China’s hard-line COVID-19 containment policy that has sparked a massive surge in infections and demands from the U.S. and others for travelers from China to prove they aren't infected.is fighting its way out of the doldrums, spurring rising unemployment, while ties with the U.S. and other major nations are at historic lows.
Xi, who is also head of the increasingly powerful armed forces, was in October given a third five-year term as head of the almost 97 million-member Communist Party.