Chinese President Xi Jinping hinted at the continuation of country’s aggressive foreign policy posture for the next five years

Chinese President Xi Jinping hinted at the continuation of country’s aggressive foreign policy posture for the next five years as he presented his work report at the opening of the 20th national congress of the Chinese Communist Party where he is widely expected to be reaffirmed for a third term as the country’s leader.
Experts said, even though Xi did not refer to any individual nations but he clearly signaled that China is likely to continue a more aggressive foreign policy as he touted China’s growing global clout and warned against “external attempts to suppress and contain” China.
Xi put special emphasis on upgrading China’s national security and intensifying troop’s combat preparedness, urging “a strong system of strategic deterrence,” which media reports said is a reference to the People’s Liberation Army’s dramatic expansion of its nuclear weapons capacity in the past two years.
He also said China will increase the proportion of new-domain forces with new combat capabilities, and promote coordinated development and application of the network information system.
China has been vigorously upgrading its capabilities in cyber information warfare and space domain in last decade, tenets of which were reflected in Xi’s speech. Experts said the emphasis on national security and ‘comprehensive’ security is striking and may be seen as a justification for his continuation in his anticipated third term as rhetoric flew in the years lead up to the 20th party congress.
Speaking at a press conference on China’s diplomacy in Beijing on Thursday, Ma Zhaoxu, member of the CPC Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and vice minister hit out at the US for willfully pursuing power politics, bullying and hegemonism.
Xu Heqian, an expert in International relations in Beijing said that as compared to 2017, Xi’s political report the the 20th party congress was more vigilant about describing the external environment. Xi Jinping referred to the Chinese Communist Party as facing “a serious and complicated international situation and the enormous risks and challenges that follow” and unlike in the past, no longer defined the current “theme of the times” as “peace and development”. Xi said that the world has now reached a “crossroads”.
In the 19th Party Congress in 2017, he said, peace and development remain the theme of the times,” Xu recalled, adding that, in terms of rhetoric, peace and development can no longer be considered as the main features of the current global situation in China’s eyes.