Editor's note: Timothy Kerswell is a research fellow at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen). He lived in Macao for seven years, working as an assistant professor at the University of Macao. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

President Xi Jinping's keynote speech capped a momentous occasion when China celebrates the Communist Party of China (CPC) in its 100th year. The big announcement of the speech was its declaration that China has achieved its first centenary goal (marking the centenary of the Communist Party of China). China is now a moderately prosperous society in all respects. In 2020 China ended absolute poverty, and it is worth thinking about how the daily lives of Chinese people have changed in very tangible ways. 

Take for example, that China's life expectancy has more than doubled since 1949. People often look at China with wonder and ask how China has achieved so many remarkable things. Today's speech underlined that the Communist Party of China has stood behind every pivotal moment of modern China.

One of the things that set the Communist Party of China apart from the politics of other countries is its ability to engage in long-range planning and to have a long-term national vision. In an age where the 24-hour news cycle and weekly electoral polling seems to dominate many political systems, the stability provided by the Communist Party of China is China's fundamental advantage. 

President Xi declared that China will now continue towards its second centenary goal, to become a "strong, democratic, civilized, harmonious, and modern socialist country" by the time that the centenary of the People's Republic of China is celebrated in 2049. I think of my days as a former government official in Australia working around a one-year budget cycle, and (at most) a three-year electoral cycle. I often find myself amazed by the ability of China to set a 5-year plan, let alone have a leader who can stand up in front of the world and speak about a goal that's almost 30 years over the horizon. The changes that we see in China are only possible because of this kind of big-picture thinking.

The Party's analysis obviously stretches a long way forward but also a long way back. A notable feature of President Xi's speech was the emphasis he placed on the historical legacy of the Communist Party of China and its achievements. The period when the Communist Party was born witnessed an upsurge of intellectual contestation about the best path forward for China. In the end, it was only Marxism and the Communist Party that led China toward a trajectory of growth and progress while the other ideologies faded into history.

The speech also celebrated the great sacrifices made by the CPC's members, underlining the party's legitimacy as the central force behind China's rejuvenation and prosperity. Xi's speech drew attention to the fact that it was not so long ago that colonial subjugation reduced China's once-great civilization to the status of a semi-colony. 

The party's gains for China and its central role in reestablishing China on the world stage have been hard-won, and the party has confronted numerous tests in its history. When international tension is on the rise, President Xi's speech emphasized the Communist Party's preparedness to struggle further and meet with challenges to achieve its goals.

The celebration of 100 years of the Communist Party of China was a historic moment, and appropriately the keynote speech drew attention to the history and continuity of the party. China's story, as told in the keynote speech connects historical accomplishments like the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, victory in China's Civil War and the foundation of the People's Republic, to its more recent achievements like the national anti-corruption campaign, and the ending of absolute poverty. The underlying message is that the Communist Party of China will continue to set ambitious goals as it drives toward 2049 and beyond.

A central aspect of the speech was the recognition that President Xi gave to Marxism as the fundamental philosophy of the Communist Party of China. The importance of a central ideology, a guiding system for the entire country, is one of the things that sets China apart. President Xi emphasized the Party's ability to apply the Marxist framework to a fast-changing world creatively, and China's place in it. 

President Xi's speech also stressed the representativeness of the Communist Party of China as the backbone of China's popular sovereignty. The 95 million CPC members are crucial to its legitimacy as China's governing party and the strong connections between the Party and China's 1.4 billion people. 

When we think about political parties worldwide, we need to remember that there simply are not many that even come close to this level of representation, especially in liberal democracies. President Xi's speech emphasized the indivisible relationship between the Party and the People.

While China patiently endures the sanctimonious lecturing of the Western powers, President Xi's speech underlined that, unlike its critics, China had never bullied or subjugated any other country. The CPC is rightly sensitive to its sovereignty due to China's past and present experiences with imperialist aggression, which brought the President to observe that a strong country requires a strong military. 

In what was clearly the most popular moment of his speech, President Xi issued a warning to any would-be challengers to China's sovereignty that "the Chinese People will never allow any foreign force to bully, oppress or enslave us. Those who want to do that will surely face bloodshed in front of the Great Wall of Steel made of more than 1.4 billion Chinese people!"

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