As 2016 comes to a close, we would like to take a moment to review Chinese President Xi Jinping’s major engagements over the past 12 months.

During the sixth plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee in October, the Party called on all its members to "closely unite around the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core."

President Xi Jinping had a busy 2016. In September, Xi chaired the G20 Hangzhou Summit, which established a framework for multilateral global investment rules. From the BRICS summit in India’s Goa on October 8 to November’s APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Lima, Peru, President Xi sent out China’s voice to the world, demonstrating the responsibility shouldered by his country in global governance and international cooperation.

The Belt and Road Initiative, proposed by Xi in 2013, refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road that link China with Europe, Africa and other Asian countries based on ancient trade routes. In 2016, Xi visited many countries along the Belt and Road including Saudi Arabia, Serbia and Poland. Hundreds of agreements were signed to enhance cooperation in multiple fields including infrastructure, energy, technology, aviation, finance and culture.

In his last New Year speech, President Xi said “the party and the nation have been mobilized to make concerted efforts to win the decisive battle over poverty.” The past year has seen achievements in eliminating poverty and improving people’s living standards. Xi pledged that the Chinese government would enact more policies to lift the country's remaining poor out of poverty by 2020.

Military reform was on the 2016 agenda for Xi, who is also Chairman of the Central Military Commission. He leads a group for deepening reform of national defense and armed forces. During the commemorative event marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in 2015, Xi announced that China’s armed forces would be cut down by 300,000 troops from 2.3 million. After that, he has urged changes in terms of the military’s size, structure and formation, calling for a smaller but more capable army.

Xi first put forward the concept of the “Chinese dream” in 2012. It can be interpreted as “a prosperous country, a revitalized nation and a happy people.” Innovation is the key to attaining this goal. “Lack of innovative ability has been the Achilles’ heel for economic development,” said Xi in a speech published in January in Qiushi, a journal of the CPC.

On a tour of state media organizations in February, Xi told media workers to make use of new media’s edge, tell appealing stories about China and build flagship media brands with global influence.

China completed its longest-ever manned space mission in 2016. Two astronauts, Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong, spent 33 days in space. The mission was a key step towards China's aim to build a permanent space station. Speaking to mission astronauts and staff, Xi encouraged them to “constantly break new ground for the manned space program,” and expressed confidence that China can become a major space power.

“I keep in mind people from every ethnic minority group,” Xi said this many times when meeting with ethnic minority people. He has attached great importance to religious and social harmony. In July 2016, he visited Xincheng Mosque in Yinchuan, calling for the acceleration of economic and social development in regions mainly inhabited by ethnic minority groups, so as to promote unity and cohesion.

The year of 2016 marks the 80th anniversary of the Long March, a strategic military maneuver carried out by the Red Army in the 1930s under the leadership of the CPC. It was an epic of selfless sacrifice and dedication. Xi said the legacy of the Long March never dies, calling for efforts to realize the Chinese dream in “a new Long March.”

(Story by Wang Xuejing)