China’s Xi Jinping hails ‘uninterrupted’ cultural continuity for powering nation’s rise
- President urges ‘unwavering cultural confidence’ as he calls for ‘efforts to create a new culture for our times’
- Focus on history and culture underlines leadership’s concerns about risks to political stability amid narrative war with the US-led West, analysts say
The Chinese civilisation is “the only uninterrupted one in the world”, Xi said, as he called for the building of a modern version, adding that cultural inheritance, innovation and development remained key factors for China to grow into a global cultural powerhouse.
“With unwavering cultural confidence, a profound sense of mission and a spirit of relentless endeavour, we must unite our efforts to create a new culture for our times,” Xi said in addressing the symposium on Friday.
Hailing the consistency and originality of Chinese culture, Xi emphasised the importance of “a comprehensive and profound understanding” of China’s history, which he said was “essential to promoting a socialist culture with Chinese characteristics more vigorously”, according to state news agency Xinhua.
“It would be impossible to understand ancient China, or modern China, let alone future China, if one does not understand China through the continuity of its long history,” Xi said, adding such continuity showed “on a fundamental level that the Chinese people must follow their own path”.
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