Full Text of Xi Jinping's Address to the Media

Xi Jinping was elected general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee at the first plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee on Thursday morning. [Xinhua]

Ladies and gentlemen, friends, good morning. It's a great pleasure to meet you, friends from the press. The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China came to a successful conclusion yesterday. During the past week, you have extensively covered the Party congress and let the world hear China's voice. On behalf of the secretariat of the 18th Party Congress, I wish to express our sincere thanks to you for your professionalism, dedication and hard work.

Just now, the 18th CPC Central Committee held its first plenary meeting and elected the new central leadership. The plenary meeting elected seven members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau. I was elected general secretary of the CPC Central Committee by the plenary session. I wish to introduce to you the other six newly elected members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau.

They are: comrade Li Keqiang, comrade Zhang Dejiang, comrade Yu Zhengsheng, comrade Liu Yunshan, comrade Wang Qishan and comrade Zhang Gaoli. Comrade Li Keqiang was a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 17th CPC Central Committee, and all the others were members of the Political Bureau of the 17th CPC Central Committee. I believe their names are familiar to you.

Here, on behalf of the members of the newly elected central leadership, I wish to express our heartfelt thanks to all other members of the Party for the great trust they have placed on us. We will strive to be worthy of their trust and fulfill our mission.

We are greatly encouraged by both the trust all the comrades of the Party have placed on us and the great expectations the people of all ethnic groups in China have of us, and we are keenly aware that this is also an important responsibility for us.

We have taken on this important responsibility for our nation. Ours is a great nation. Throughout more than 5,000 years of evolution as a civilization, the Chinese nation has made an indelible contribution to the progress of human civilization.

During the modern era (from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century), our nation underwent untold hardship and suffering, and its very survival hung in the balance. Since then, numerous Chinese patriots rose up one after another and fought for the renewal of the Chinese nation, but failed one time after another.

Since its founding, the Communist Party of China has made great sacrifices and forged ahead against all odds. It has rallied and led the Chinese people in transforming the poor and backward Old China into an increasingly prosperous and powerful New China, thus opening a completely new horizon for the great renewal of the Chinese nation.

Our responsibility now is to rally and lead the entire Party and the people of all ethnic groups in China in taking the baton passed on to us by history, and in making continued efforts to achieve the great renewal of the Chinese nation, make the Chinese nation stand rock-firm in the family of nations, and make an even greater contribution to mankind.