Xi Jinping speech from six years ago resurfaces to ‘send message on trade war, leadership’
- Communist Party journal publishes address from 2013 – a decision ‘that’s come directly from Xi or his office’
- Its focus is how China needs to ‘cooperate and compete with the more advanced capitalist’ countries
A speech delivered by Xi Jinping six years ago on how China needs to “cooperate and compete with the more advanced capitalist” countries was republished by the Communist Party’s journal on Monday, in what could be a hint of the Chinese president’s stance on the trade war with the US.
While the ruling party’s flagship journal on political theory – Qiushi, or Seeking Truth – often carries speeches given by Xi, they are generally more recent addresses.
Observers said the decision to run the transcript of the speech was likely to be a direction from the top aimed at sending a message.
Alfred Wu, an associate professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, said it “must be a decision that’s come directly from [Xi] or his office”.
“He clearly wants to convey an important message within the party by republishing the full version of an old speech,” Wu said.
