Speaking for the first time in his precedent-breaking third term as head of state, Xi called for China to step up its ability to safeguard national security and manage public security. “Security is the foundation for development, stability is the prerequisite for prosperity,” he said at the closing of the annual parliament session. President Xi Jinping on Monday vowed to build China‘s military into a “Great Wall of steel” to protect the its sovereignty and developmental interests as he sought a bigger role for Beijing in global affairs, days after brokering a Saudi Arabia-Iran detente, regarded as a diplomatic coup. Speaking for the first time since the rubber-stamp Parliament last week approved his precedent-breaking third term as head of state, Xi called on the nation to uphold the leadership of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) headed by him. “This is my third time assuming the lofty office of president,” Xi, 69, said at the closing ceremony of China’s national legislature, adding that “the trust of the people is the biggest driving force for me to move forward, and it is also a heavy responsibility on my shoulders”. He pledged that he would “faithfully perform the duties entrusted by the Constitution” and would “never let down the great trust” of all Chinese people. “Security is the bedrock of development, while stability is a prerequisite for prosperity,” Xi said Xi also called for efforts to advance the modernisation of China’s defence forces and build the people’s armed forces into a “Great Wall of steel” that is capable of effectively safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests. Xi’s reference to the Great Wall was significant as the mammoth structure, with a total length of more than 20,000 km, was built over centuries by China’s emperors to protect their territory. It also came amidst growing tensions between China and the US and some neighbouring countries. Xi is regarded as the ‘core leader’ of the party very much like...

Greater communication, collaboration can ease tensions, experts say China is expected to place "significant importance" on stabilizing its relationship with the United States during this year's two sessions, a foreign policy expert in the US said, as other analysts called for improved dialogue between the two nations. The National People's Congress, China's top legislature, will hold its annual meeting on Sunday, while the meeting of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the country's top political advisory body, will take place on Saturday. Both meetings will be held in Beijing. The annual two sessions will unveil China's policies in areas including the economy, military, trade, diplomacy and the environment. China is expected to seek more constructive ties with the US, said Sourabh Gupta, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Institute for China-America Studies. "The first step toward making a constructive relationship is to stabilize that relationship," Gupta told China Daily. He said the administration of US President Joe Biden seems to be competing "very strongly and maybe unfairly" in the trade and technology fields, however, "in the broader US-China relationship, they want to add stability to it, and I should think China welcomes it". "I think the Chinese side values the fact that the White House is interested in not adding to the tensions but in trying to ameliorate those tensions and have a more stabilized relationship," he said. US-China relations had "derailed a little bit because of the balloon incident", Gupta said. On Feb 4, the US shot down an unmanned Chinese civilian airship, despite China's repeated explanations that its entry into US airspace was an unintended and isolated incident caused by force majeure. Gupta said he saw the incident as a passing phenomenon and a temporary setback to the relationship. "So, coming out of the two sessions, I foresee China placing, not overriding importance to the US...