Politics

Xi Jinping: 'Time for China to take centre stage'

Listing China's recent achievements in his three-hour speech, Mr Xi said that "socialism with Chinese characteristics in this new era" meant China had now "become a great power in the world", and had played "an important role in the history of humankind".

The Chinese model of growth under Communist rule was "flourishing", he said, and had given "a new choice" to other developing countries.

"It is time for us to take centre stage in the world and to make a greater contribution to humankind," he added.

Since Mr Xi took power in 2012, China's economy has continued to grow rapidly. But correspondents say the country has also become more authoritarian, with increasing censorship and arrests of lawyers and activists.