Chinese young people have remained in the vanguard of promoting social transformation in China, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday.

President Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remark during his speech at event to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Youth League of China (CYLC).

The fate of young generation has always been closely linked to the time, Xi said. After the Opium War in 1840, China was gradually reduced to a semi-colonial, semi-feudal society, during which the country endured intense humiliation, the people were subjected to great pain, and the Chinese civilization was plunged into darkness.

He said the Chinese people put up a courageous fight to save the nation from peril, with a large number of young people taking the lead, adding that the May Fourth Movement in 1919 promoted the spread of Marxism in the country and marked the beginning of the New Democratic Revolution.

Founded in 1922, the CYLC has become an important force in the new path of national development. The youth organization had over 73 million members nationwide as of December 31, 2021.