President's New Year speech held up as inspiring amid pandemic, analysts say

In his address on New Year's Eve, President Xi Jinping gave hope to the world that 2022 will be a better year, with major challenges to be tackled together and opportunities shared, according to analysts overseas.

Mustafa Hyder Sayed, executive director of the Pakistan-China Institute, said that Xi's speech reinforces his view that a multilateral world order is the only way forward. The concept of unipolarity and a Cold War mindset are outdated.

"After taking into account the accomplishments and successes of the Chinese people both inside China and outside China, President Xi has given a way forward for the Chinese nation, the developing world and the world at large, by giving hope and creating the vision of a shared future," Sayed said.

The president's speech "reflected the great journey that has been accomplished by the Communist Party of China in achieving a moderately prosperous society, fulfilling the first centenary goal and also bouncing back from the COVID-19 pandemic in which China has fared very well", he said.

Gerald Mbanda, a researcher and publisher on China and Africa, said that Xi's speech has given confidence to people around the world, especially those in the developing world, that in China they have a reliable partner in the fight against the pandemic.

"Whereas the rich nations are practicing vaccine hoarding and vaccine nationalism, creating a huge vaccine gap between rich and poor nations, China deserves a pat on the back for leading the global fight against COVID-19 by providing more than 2 billion vaccine doses to more than 120 countries and international organizations," he said.

Dennis Munene, executive director of the China-Africa Center at the Africa Policy Institute in Nairobi, said that President Xi, in looking ahead to the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, confirmed China's readiness to host the events, while affirming the country's commitment to spare no effort to ensure their success.

"Indeed, China's mastery in global diplomacy has made 'the world turn its eyes on China' and as President Xi categorically declared, 'China is ready'," he said.

Mbanda said that Xi's speech made clear that the Games will provide an opportunity to unite the planet, and that China is ready to give the best of the Winter Olympics to the world.

"Efforts by some Western countries led by the United States to announce a diplomatic boycott of the Games only serve to politicize the Games and create a Cold War mentality based on unfounded allegations," he said.

'Dream chasing'

Salman Bashir, a former foreign secretary of Pakistan and former ambassador to China, described the speech as an inspirational one that puts in perspective the great achievements of the Chinese people. Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, they are "dream chasing" the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts, from sports to outer space.

Munene noted that Xi cited the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC in 2021 and the Party's original aspirations of building China into a modern socialist country in all respects.

"Reflecting on his experiences in the countryside and his ordeal with poverty, President Xi affirmed his commitment to ensuring that everyone in China, leads a better life with no one worrying about food or clothing, or access to education, housing, and medical insurance," Munene said.

Mbanda said that the appreciation shown toward Chinese people in various fields of work, including astronauts on duty in space, exhibited the people-centered leadership of the Party.

Evgeny Bazhanov, president of the Diplomatic Academy of Russia's Foreign Ministry, spoke of China's achievements in a range of high-tech sectors and how they have contributed to its economic success.

Duan Yuezhong, chief editor of The Duan Press in Japan, said: "Having been engaged in the publishing industry for a long time, I deeply feel that only by understanding the Communist Party of China can someone really understand China."

Evgeny Zaytsev, director of the China-Russian Research Center, cited the significance of China's elimination of absolute poverty as one of the country's most important achievements.

He cited conservation efforts for the Yellow River and Qinghai Lake, as well as protection for wild elephants in Yunnan province and for Tibetan antelopes. Such efforts contribute to the image of a "Beautiful China", and are admired around the world.

Ren Qi in Moscow and Wang Xu in Tokyo contributed to this story.