Xi Jinping on strengthening overall Party leadership

BEIJING, March 14 (Xinhua) -- At the just-concluded annual session of China's national legislature, President Xi Jinping put forward five convictions that have been reinforced, of which the first is upholding the Party's overall leadership.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, has on multiple occasions highlighted the Party's overall leadership.

Following are some highlights of his remarks in this regard:

-- The leadership of the Party is the defining feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics and constitutes the greatest strength of this system. It is the foundation and lifeblood of the Party and the country, and the crux upon which the interests and wellbeing of all Chinese people depend.

-- The Party exercises overall leadership over all endeavors across the country. The primary requirement in adhering to Party leadership is to uphold the CPC Central Committee's authority and centralized, unified leadership. This is the paramount principle in maintaining Party leadership, and we must never equivocate nor waver at any time and in any situation.

-- Party leadership must be comprehensive, systematic and holistic, and it must be followed in all respects -- economic, political, cultural, social and eco-environmental progress, national defense and armed forces, national reunification, foreign affairs and strengthening the Party.

-- On the journey ahead, we must uphold the Party's overall leadership and continue to enhance its leadership. Bearing in mind the country's most fundamental interests, we must enhance the Party's capacity to conduct sound, democratic, and law-based governance, and ensure that it fully exerts its core role in providing overall leadership and coordinating the efforts of all sides.

-- As long as we unswervingly uphold the overall Party leadership and safeguard the Party Central Committee's authority and centralized, unified leadership, we will definitely be able to ensure that the whole Party and the country have the strong political cohesiveness to unite the people to work together, develop confidence, bring together the strong power of innovation on the basis of what has been done in the past and uniting as one to surmount all difficulties, and form an anchor for the nation in the face of adversity.