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President,

On April 7, China, along with Russia, voted against a draft resolution on the issue of the Strait of Hormuz at the Security Council. As a permanent member of the Security Council, China approaches every vote in the Council with a serious, conscientious, and responsible attitude, and always determines its voting position based on the merits of the issue itself and on whether the adoption of the resolution would genuinely contribute to resolving the issue and achieving peace. 

China attaches great importance to this draft resolution submitted by Bahrain on behalf of Gulf States. We fully understand their major concerns. At the same time, the Security Council’s actions should be aimed at deescalation. They must not provide a veneer of legitimacy for unauthorized military operations or grant a license to the use of force, let alone further exacerbate tensions and add fuel to the fire, thereby leading to an escalation of the conflict. In exercising its veto on this draft resolution, China has upheld international fairness and justice, defended the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, prevented the conflict from expanding further and the situation from escalating further, and created favorable conditions for achieving a temporary ceasefire and launching dialogue and negotiation. China’s vote represents a choice responsible for peace and for the people of the region. It stands on the right side of history and will stand the test of history. 

President, 

China does not go along with Iran’s attacks on Gulf States. China believes that the passage and safety of a strait used for international navigation should be safeguarded. We call on Iran to take proactive measures to restore normal navigation in the Strait of Hormuz at an early date. Meanwhile, the US ramped-up military deployment and resorted to a targeted blockade constitute a dangerous and irresponsible move. The issue of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz is a spillover effect of the conflict in Iran. Only a complete ceasefire can fundamentally create conditions for easing the situation. 

China welcomes the announcement by the relevant parties that a ceasefire agreement has been reached. We support all efforts conducive to ending the conflict. The US-Iran negotiation in Pakistan marks a step in the right direction toward deescalation. The current situation has reached a critical juncture between war and peace, and a window of opportunity for peace is opening. The pressing priority is to prevent, by all means, a relapse in fighting and to maintain the momentum of the ceasefire and negotiation that did not come easily. This serves the fundamental interests of the people in the region and meets the shared aspirations of the international community. The relevant parties should adhere to the ceasefire agreement, stick to the direction of dialogue and peace talks, stay committed to resolving disputes through political and diplomatic means, and take concrete actions to deescalate regional tensions. The international community should continue to intensify efforts to promote talks for peace and unequivocally oppose any actions that undermine the ceasefire or escalate confrontations. All parties should also earnestly respect Lebanon’s sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity, and prevent the escalation of the situation in Lebanon from affecting the ceasefire arrangement. 

President, 

As a sincere friend and strategic partner of countries in the Middle East, China is following closely the regional situation, upholding an objective and impartial position, and has been engaged in intensive mediation with all parties to actively promote talks for peace. Recently, President Xi Jinping solemnly put forward four propositions on safeguarding and promoting peace and stability in the Middle East, namely, stay committed to the principle of peaceful coexistence, stay committed to the principle of national sovereignty, stay committed to the principle of international rule of law, and stay committed to a balanced approach to development and security. This demonstrates China’s consistent position and active efforts to promote peace, stop the fighting, and advocate for dialogue to resolve differences. It offers a Chinese approach to resolving the crisis and ending the conflict. Guided by the spirit of President Xi Jinping’s four propositions, China stands ready to continue to facilitate deescalation, promote the improvement of relations among regional countries, and play a constructive role in ultimately achieving enduring peace and stability in the Middle East. 

Thank you, President.

South Korea's Samsung Electronics announced on Wednesday that it will cease sales of all home appliance products in the Chinese mainland, including televisions and monitors, while mobile phone is still on sale, according to a statement published on its official website on Wednesday.

A Chinese analyst said the move reflects normal market dynamics and underscores the growing competitiveness of domestic brands, whose product strength now rivals that of international peers.

Samsung said the decision was made after careful consideration in response to rapidly changing market conditions. According to its statement, the affected product lines include televisions, monitors, commercial display systems, air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, dryers, washer-dryer combos, garment care systems, audio equipment, projectors, vacuum cleaners, and air purifiers.

The company added that after-sales services, including installation, return and maintenance, will continue to be provided to existing customers in accordance with China's relevant laws on protection of consumer rights and interests. 

Industry data cited by Chinese media outlet DoNews showed that as of April 5, 2026, Samsung's offline market share in China stood at 3.62 percent for televisions, 0.41 percent for refrigerators, and 0.38 percent for washing machines. Television sales revenue has dropped to about 5 percent of its peak level, while overall home appliance revenue has fallen to less than 1 percent of its historical high.

Samsung's challenges are not limited to China. According to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency, rising global uncertainties and increasing raw material and component costs have continued to erode profitability in its home appliance business.

In 2025, Samsung's Visual Display and Digital Appliances divisions — responsible for televisions and home appliances — reported combined losses of 200 billion Korean won ($138.06 million). Over the same period, the net profit of Samsung's China sales subsidiary fell 44 percent year-on-year to 168.1 billion won.

The shift comes as Chinese brands have steadily expanded their domestic market share, supported in part by China's policy-backed trade-in program. In 2025, total TV shipments in China reached 32.895 million units, with the top eight domestic brands —Hisense, TCL, Xiaomi, Skyworth, Changhong, Haier, Konka and Huawei — accounting 94.1 percent of the market, according to Chinese industry data provider Runto Technology.

By contrast, the combined annual shipments of major foreign brands — including Samsung, Sony, Philips and Sharp — have fallen below 1 million units, remaining at the bottom of the market, said the survey.

Liu Dingding, a veteran industry observer, told the Global Times on Tuesday that with foreign brands' market shares dropping into a relatively low level, the cost of maintaining operations in China — including staffing and marketing — has become increasingly unjustifiable, making exit a rational business decision.

Despite intensifying competition, China remains a highly attractive market for global companies. In 2025, total retail sales of consumer goods surpassed 50 trillion yuan ($7.32 trillion) for the first time, reaching 50.1 trillion yuan, up 3.7 percent year-on-year. Consumption contributed 52 percent to economic growth, an increase of 5 percentage points, official data showed. 

Meanwhile, Samsung is not fully withdrawing from China. According to Yonhap, the company will continue to operate in mobile devices, semiconductors and medical equipment sectors. It plans to expand customized mobile products and services while strengthening cooperation with local AI firms to develop features tailored to Chinese users.

The company is also expected to shift its focus in China toward advanced industrial sectors, including R&D, manufacturing cooperation and investment, while maintaining operations at its Suzhou home appliance plant and semiconductor facilities in Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province and Suzhou in East China's Jiangsu Province, according to Yonhap.

Da Zhigang, a researcher at the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies at the Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, said that China's home appliance industry has become increasingly mature and highly competitive. Samsung's shift in investment focus in China toward AI, green development, and other high value-added, high-tech sectors is also aligned with the country's manufacturing development priorities.

Liu said the contraction of South Korean consumer electronics and automotive brands in China fundamentally reflects the rise of Chinese manufacturing and innovation, as consumers gain access to higher-quality alternatives. 

"Brands that fail to adapt to market changes or upgrade products in a timely manner are likely to be naturally phased out by market forces," he said. 

It's been two weeks since China reported remarkable import growth for the first quarter of 2026, yet the reverberations continue. On Monday, Bloomberg reported that economists have sharply upgraded their forecasts for China's import growth and now expect it to overtake the pace of expansion in exports for the first time since 2021. Specifically, as Chinese firms hoover up high-end chips needed for artificial intelligence (AI), imports are set to jump to a five-year high of 5 percent in 2026, according to the median estimate of 17 economists polled by Bloomberg. That's more than double the growth predicted in March.

This is largely in line with a strong growth momentum in China's imports. In the first quarter, China's total goods trade reached 11.84 trillion yuan ($1.74 trillion), up 15 percent year-on-year, with imports growing 19.6 percent to 4.99 trillion yuan, which was significantly faster than the export growth rate of 11.9 percent, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs on April 14. In 2025, China's total imports reached 18.5 trillion yuan, making it the world's second-largest import market for the 17th consecutive year and a primary export destination for nearly 80 countries.

Clearly, China's import growth is picking up steam. What is driving China's import surge? The Bloomberg report, while mentioning China's efforts to open its domestic market to imports in the face of "pushback" abroad against Chinese exports, claimed that "it's China's reliance on cutting-edge technologies linked to AI that's kicking imports into higher gear." It also asserted that "weak consumption" is restraining demand in the country. Needless to say, viewing China's import surge through such a narrow lens fails to capture the full picture of the country's trade and economic structure.

AI is certainly a burgeoning sector in China, and demand for chips and other critical components related to the sector are indeed high. Customs figures show that in the first quarter, China's imports of integrated circuits grew 41.4 percent year-on-year. However, chips are far from the only import in high demand. In fact, imports of other high-tech products also surged sharply, with imports of computer components increasing 45.3 percent year-on-year.

This paints a far more nuanced picture than the claim that the import surge is driven by just one factor. First and foremost, the sharp rise in imports of high-tech components underscores the ongoing upgrading of Chinese industries and the country's continued ascent in the global industrial chain. China's imports have evolved well beyond raw materials or finished consumer goods; they are now more deeply embedded in global production networks. 

It demonstrates that, despite efforts by certain countries and regions to push for so-called "decoupling" or "de-risking," China continues to deepen its integration into the global industrial and supply chains for high-end, high-value products.

The growing demand for high-end chips, in particular, serves as a clear microcosm of China's industrial upgrading and high-quality development. Despite the geopolitical disruptions that have buffeted the global semiconductor industry over the past few years, the fundamental commercial logic remains intact. China, thanks to its booming high-tech sector, is still the world's largest market for chips and it is indispensable to major international chip producers.

Also importantly, there is another critical factor at play when it comes to China's surging imports. Thanks to its continuous opening-up and various efforts to boost trade, China's trade network keeps expanding, with stronger trade ties with a growing number of countries and regions. In the first quarter, China's imports from Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) member countries, Europe, and Latin America increased by 25 percent, 26.4 percent, and 26.3 percent, respectively, all higher than the overall growth rate.

Behind this is a constantly upgrading and growing consumption market, albeit shifts in consumption forms. In the first quarter of 2026, the added value of China's wholesale and retail trade grew 4.1 percent year-on-year to 3.5 trillion yuan, the Ministry of Commerce said on Monday. Notably, retail sales of goods reached 11.3 trillion yuan, up 2.2 percent year-on-year, the ministry said. 

In essence, the rapid expansion of China's imports stems from a confluence of factors - including industrial upgrading, expanding domestic consumption, deeper integration into global supply chains, and further opening-up - rather than being driven by a single sector or isolated demand. Crucially, this sharp growth in imports offers substantial opportunities for many countries and regions worldwide, especially at a time when global trade continues to face multiple headwinds.

The Chinese nation made the historic choice to pursue its own development goals in strict accordance with the prevailing conditions and objective reality. The fact that Chinese leadership in several decades has managed to advance the once backward country to the undisputed rank of a global power is recognized throughout the world as the most outstanding achievement of the 21st century.

Nowadays it is impossible to review the current state and future contours of the whole structure of international relations without taking into consideration the effects of the Belt and Road Initiative, and more recent far-reaching initiatives on global governance, security and cooperation based on openness, inclusivity, diversity and common benefit.

These initiatives are invaluable contributions of China to the progress of the whole humanity on the path of peace, development and partnership in pursuit of a common destiny.

Philosophically speaking, the Chinese initiatives are motivated by conviction that only by rejecting hostility and mutual suspicion, by embracing interconnectivity and interdependence can countries different from each other in terms of their political, military and economic size, geographic location, and historical background can be effective in overcoming common challenges.

Given growing tensions in international relations and continuing armed clashes in regional hotbeds it is becoming more and more imperative to accept the wisdom of the Chinese approach to move away from the pursuit of egoistic interests of individual states and to assume responsibility for uniting peace efforts and to start coordinating collective actions. Unless the realization of urgency of this imperative by the entire community of civilized nations happens, I am afraid we will be facing global uncertainty and turbulence unprecedented in the history of the humankind.

The Chinese economic model is not a rigid, dogmatic system detached from long-term and everyday needs of the nation. On the contrary, in my understanding, socialism with the Chinese characteristics is a constantly evolving process, vividly reacting to internal and external changes and demands.

Decisionmakers in Beijing while advancing the goals of Chinese socialism in the fields of market economy, political democracy, culture, social life, responsible environmental practices always set as the priority the comprehensive development of human potential, social equality and justice. This is exactly the "people-centered" attitude that should be the norm everywhere.

As for the Chinese contribution to inject momentum into the global economic performance - the well-known facts are totally convincing. The economic health of the overwhelming majority of countries in the world is inextricably tied to what China does in industrial production, trade, technology, innovation. What is essential is that China recognizes its unique responsibility to maintain the stability of global supply chains and alleviate the negative effects of disruptive actions of some other important international actors.

Chinese leadership constantly underlines that China's development will always be in harmony with trends in global development, in accordance with the role as a provider of stability, driver of the global economy, and a facilitator in the process of addressing common challenges faced by humanity, be they geopolitical or geoeconomic.

Within the international community, the specifics of the 15th Five-Year Plan drew heightened attention because of the special emphasis on result-oriented indicators and reasonable pragmatism, given the peculiarities of current economic situation in the world.

Based on the previous exemplary performance of ensuring the GDP growth throughout recent years and meeting all targets set in the development strategy, I am definitely confident that China as the world's workshop and the largest consumer market will continue to play its positive and inspiring role in the functioning of the global economy in the next five years and beyond.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry (FM) spokesperson on Tuesday urged the US government to listen to the voices of justice and immediately stop its blockade, sanctions and any form of coercion and pressure on Cuba. 

Spokesperson Guo Jiakun made the remarks at a press briefing on Tuesday in response to a media inquiry over the situation in Cuba.

According to reports, the governments of Brazil, Mexico and Spain recently issued a joint statement, expressing deep concern over the grave humanitarian crisis in Cuba, calling for necessary measures to ease the situation in Cuba and reiterating that human rights, territorial integrity, sovereign equality, and the principles of peaceful resolution of conflicts should be respected. Russia's deputy foreign minister visited Cuba and stated that Russia would never abandon Cuba, while many European countries held rallies in support of Cuba, and some US non-governmental organizations called for the lifting of sanctions against the country. In addition, according to media reports, US State Department officials recently visited Cuba and met with Cuban officials, urging "democratic and economic freedom" in Cuba, and in exchange the US side offered to help lift the Cuban embargo and to provide Cuba with access to Starlink satellite services.

We have noted that many countries, as well as people from all walks of life in the US recently have expressed their opposition to the US blockade on Cuba, Guo said.  

"The Chinese side is willing to work with all parties to firmly support Cuba in safeguarding national sovereignty and security and opposing external interference," Guo said. 

The Eastern Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army of China dispatched naval and air forces to conduct joint combat readiness patrols in relevant sea and air domains of the East China Sea on Saturday. This is a routine arrangement within the annual plan, aimed at testing the joint combat capabilities of the troops, said Senior Colonel Xu Chenghua, spokesperson for the PLA Eastern Theater Command.

Troops of the theater command will regularly carry out relevant military operations in response to security situations, to safeguard national sovereignty and security as well as regional peace and stability, Xu said. 

Making his fourth visit to China in four years, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will pay an official visit to China from Saturday, marking another in a series of successive visits to China by European leaders since the beginning of this year. A Chinese expert said that this visit is a natural step that underscores the Sanchez administration's strong commitment to its relations with China.

At the invitation of Premier of the State Council Li Qiang, Sanchez will pay an official visit to China from April 11 to 15, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson announced on Wednesday. 

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said during a press conference on the same day that President Xi Jinping will meet with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, and Premier Li Qiang and Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee Zhao Leji will hold talks and meet with him respectively for in-depth exchanges of views on the bilateral relations and issues of mutual interest. 

The upcoming visit of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will provide another opportunity for China and Spain working together to deepen strategic mutual trust, have closer exchanges and cooperation, and step up coordination on multilateral affairs, so as to bring the China-Spain relations to a new height and make greater contribution to world peace and stability, the spokesperson added.

Sanchez previously visited China in April 2025, September 2024 and March 2023, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry. 

King Felipe VI of Spain also paid a state visit to China in November 2025, his first to the country after his enthronement, and the first visit by a Spanish monarch to China in 18 years, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao said during the conference that the visit this time will also be another important high-level exchange between China and Spain.

Noting Sanchez's successive visits, which showcase the long-maintained friendly attitude of him and his political party, Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, toward China, Jian Junbo, director of the Center for China-Europe Relations at Fudan University's Institute of International Studies, said that the trip this year marks a natural step that demonstrates the Sanchez administration attaches great importance to its relations with China.

Spain has stood out in recent years for the stability of its government and the continuity of its foreign policy. Backed by Sanchez's years in office, that stability has allowed Spain to maintain sustained, high-level engagement with China, Cui Hongjian, a professor at the Academy of Regional and Global Governance at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times previously. 

A report by news outlet EFE noted on Wednesday that Spain and China maintain a comprehensive strategic partnership and have strengthened their economic ties in recent years, with cooperation in sectors such as the automotive industry, energy and technology.

Regarding the trip, Reuters reported on Wednesday that Madrid seeks to build on its commercial ties with the world's second-largest economy.

Economic and trade cooperation is also necessary, given Europe's current economic situation and ongoing energy shortages, Jian said. "Closer market ties are conducive to the fundamental development and prosperity of both sides."

He noted that the two countries have great potential for cooperation in the energy sector, including power grid upgrading, new energy development and energy storage equipment, and that closer collaboration could also be pursued in automotive machinery and agriculture. 

Jian added that Spain has recognized these opportunities and reaped tangible benefits from closer economic ties with China in a partnership that could set a positive example for other European countries.

Several European leaders have visited China since the beginning of 2026, including Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. 

Amid current changes in the geopolitical landscape including the Middle East, Jian said Sanchez's visit to China also carries special significance, and Spain's continued efforts to advance ties with China under such circumstances highlight its strong commitment to China-Spain relations.

Manycore Tech Inc, a spatial intelligence unicorn based in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, on Thursday released its global offering document, revealing that the company plans to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on April 17.

Upon successful initial public offerings (IPO) in Hong Kong, Manycore Tech will become the first listed company among what has become widely known as "Hangzhou Six Little Dragons" of rapidly rising tech start-ups, media reports and analysts said.

According to the offering document published on the company's website, Manycore Tech intended to globally offer approximately 161 million shares, with a maximum offering price of HK$7.62 ($0.97) per share. This means the firm aims to raise up to HK$1.227 billion, according to media reports.

Through this global offering, Manycore Tech has secured cornerstone investors including Taikang Life Insurance, Sunshine Life Insurance, GF Fund, Redwood, Mirae Asset, Wu Song Capital, Hesai HK and others, according to Manycore Tech's offering document.

The diverse group of institutional investors - spanning major long-term insurance capital, top public funds, professional private equity firms, international asset managers, and industry leaders - has committed a total of approximately HK$455 million, according to a report by Securities Times.

The report said that the inclusion of Mirae Asset, one of the largest independent financial groups in Asia, to a certain extent, showed the recognition by international long-term capital of the spatial intelligence sector and the intrinsic value of Manycore Tech.

"Manycore Tech's IPO can send a strong signal to global capital: China's AI sector is not only about general large models. Hard tech companies operating in vertical domains with strong real-world application scenarios also possess substantial high-valuation potential," Wang Peng, an associate researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Due to their influence in cutting-edge technology fields, Game Science, DeepSeek, Unitree Robotics, DEEP Robotics, BrainCo and Manycore Tech are collectively known as the "Hangzhou Six Little Dragons," and they are regarded as a microcosm of Hangzhou's and China's scientific and technological innovation strength.

So far, several of the "Hangzhou Six Little Dragons" have begun their IPO journeys. In addition to Manycore Tech, Unitree Robotics' IPO application for the STAR Market has been accepted by the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE), which is set to become the first humanoid robot stock on the A-share market, according to a statement by the SSE.

Other members of the group have also been reportedly advancing their IPO plans.

Overall, the IPO processes of "Hangzhou Six Little Dragons," covering cutting-edge hard tech sectors such as spatial intelligence, robotics, and brain-computer interfaces, demonstrated the vibrant momentum of China's tech innovation sector, Wang said.

"The entry into the capital markets also indicated that China's high-tech sector is transitioning from the research and development stage to the growth and expansion stage," said Wang.

The 139th Canton Fair is set to open on Wednesday in Guangzhou, with a record number of exhibitors, while bringing together more than 210,000 global buyers pre-registered so far, a 20 percent year-on-year increase, officials revealed on Friday.

More than 32,000 enterprises will participate in the 139th Canton Fair, exceeding previous sessions. Meanwhile, over 210,000 global buyers have registered as of Thursday. Among confirmed attendees, 290 leading global buyer companies have registered, up 30 percent from last year, Wang Zhihua, director general of the Department of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Commerce, said on Friday at a press conference for the 139th China Import and Export Fair, commonly known as Canton Fair. 

"The buyer structure has become more diversified, with notable growth from countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as those from Latin America and Africa," said Wang.

Despite fluctuations in Middle East buyers' attendance at some international exhibitions recently, their interest in the Canton Fair remains strong, Zhu Yong, director of China Foreign Trade Centre, the organizer of the Canton Fair, said on Friday at the press conference.

"To support them, we have introduced special service packages, including online business matching for Middle East enterprises that are unable to participate on-site, dedicated livestreamed tours, and enhanced services for Middle East companies already in China," said Zhu.

Zhu also noted that "we will fully leverage the platform function of the Canton Fair as an open window to the outside world, sharing new opportunities for China's development."

In terms of what this session of the Canton Fair can offer to global buyers, Wang said that nine new themed zones will be introduced, covering smart wearables, display technologies, consumer drones, integrated housing and courtyard facilities, among others. The scale of exhibition areas for electronic consumer goods, new materials, and industrial automation has also been expanded.

More than 11,000 exhibitors are specialized, high-quality enterprises, a 5.1 percent increase from previous session in October and November 2025. Among the over 4.65 million exhibits on display, new products, green products, and those with independent intellectual property rights account for 23 percent, 22 percent, and 25 percent respectively, said Wang.

Wang also stressed that as the first Canton Fair held at the start of China's 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30), this edition carries special importance.

"The Canton Fair was founded (in 1957) during China's first Five-Year Plan period (1953-57). After 70 years, it remains as vibrant as ever. In the current 15th Five-Year Plan period, it continues to receive high expectations," said Wang.

According to the Canton Fair's surveys, among the more than 32,000 exhibitors at this session, nearly 20 percent have already carried out overseas investments, creating over 200,000 local jobs and making positive contributions to the economic and social development of host countries, Wang noted.

The Canton Fair, one of China's most important trade platforms, will keep strengthening connections between Chinese manufacturers and global buyers, Zhu Qiucheng, CEO of Ningbo New Oriental Electric Industrial Development and a regular Canton Fair participant, told the Global Times.

"Beyond business deals, the fair also serves as a vital bridge for knowledge sharing across countries. Exhibitors and buyers frequently exchange insights on advanced manufacturing techniques and region-specific marketing strategies. These interactions not only help individual companies grow but also promote broader progress across entire industries," said Zhu Qiucheng.

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on Friday morning met with Cheng Li-wun, chairwoman of the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party, in Beijing.

Invited by the CPC Central Committee and Xi, Cheng is the first KMT chairperson to have led a delegation to the Chinese mainland in the past decade. The delegation had visited Jiangsu Province and Shanghai before coming to Beijing.

Xi said this meeting between the CPC and KMT leaders after 10 years is of great significance for developing relations between the two parties and across the Taiwan Strait.

Xi stressed that no matter how the international landscape and the situation across the Taiwan Strait may evolve, the overarching trend toward the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation will not change, and the prevailing momentum for the Chinese on both sides of the Strait to come together will not change.

He added that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait hope for peace and tranquility, improved cross-Strait relations, and better lives. "This is a responsibility that the CPC and the KMT cannot shirk, and also a driving force for the two parties to work together," Xi said.

Xi expressed the willingness to work with all political parties in Taiwan, including the KMT, as well as groups and people from all sectors, to strengthen exchanges and dialogue, promote peace across the Taiwan Strait, improve the well-being of the people and advance national rejuvenation, on the basis of the common political foundation of adhering to the 1992 Consensus and opposing "Taiwan independence."

He called for forging closer bonds across the Strait by upholding a correct understanding of identity.

"Differences in social systems should not be an excuse for secession," Xi said.

Xi called for safeguarding the shared homeland through peaceful development. The core issue for safeguarding the shared homeland lies in recognizing that both sides of the Strait belong to one China, Xi said.

"We welcome any proposals conducive to the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and will spare no effort to advance any endeavors that promote such development," Xi said, adding that "Taiwan independence" is the chief culprit undermining peace across the Taiwan Strait. "We should neither condone nor tolerate it."

Xi called for fostering the well-being of the people through exchanges and integration.

Taiwan compatriots are welcome to visit the mainland, Xi said. He encouraged young people in Taiwan to seek development opportunities on the mainland.

Taiwan agricultural and fishery products, as well as other high-quality goods, are welcome to enter the mainland market, he added.

Xi called for joint efforts to achieve national rejuvenation. "We firmly believe that more and more Taiwan compatriots will gain a correct understanding of the mainland's social system and development path," he said.

"They will recognize that Taiwan's development prospects hinge on a strong motherland, and that the interests and well-being of Taiwan compatriots are closely linked to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation," he added.

Xi expressed the mainland's willingness to share its development opportunities and achievements with Taiwan compatriots and jointly build a stronger Chinese economy.

Cheng said that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are Chinese and belong to one family.

The KMT and the CPC should uphold the common political foundation of adhering to the 1992 Consensus and opposing "Taiwan independence," strengthen mutual political trust, preserve Chinese history, promote Chinese culture, and expand exchanges and cooperation across all fields, Cheng said.

She called for efforts to promote the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, foster a brighter future for ties across the Strait, and advance the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Wang Huning, Cai Qi and other officials attended the meeting.