Xi Warns of 'Perilous Storms' at CCP's 105th Anniversary
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- Xi Jinping delivered a roughly 40-minute speech on July 1 marking the Communist Party's 105th anniversary, warning the world had entered 'a new period of turbulence and transformation' with 'high winds, rough seas and even perilous storms' ahead.
- Xi reiterated Beijing's goal of Taiwan reunification, reaffirmed the one-China principle and 1992 Consensus, and pledged to 'resolutely safeguard national sovereignty' while opposing Taiwan independence and 'external interference.'
- Xi called for sustained military modernization and reaffirmed the party's absolute leadership over the People's Liberation Army, declaring 'a strong country must have a strong military' and committing to build a 'world-class military.'
- Xi pledged to continue anti-corruption efforts, calling self-reform one of the party's defining strengths; his campaign has already implicated senior military figures including CMC vice-chairmen Zhang Youxia and He Weidong, and former defence ministers Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe.
- Xi reaffirmed Beijing's commitment to the 'one country, two systems' framework in Hong Kong and Macau, emphasizing that 'patriots' administer both special administrative regions and upholding a high degree of autonomy.
- The Chinese Communist Party had approximately 101 million members at the end of 2025, a rough 1 million increase from the previous year, with Xi describing it as 'the world's largest ruling party with significant global influence.'
Why it matters: Xi's 'perilous storms' framing casts the party's 105th year as a moment demanding tightened discipline and military buildup, even as he locked in non-negotiable positions on Taiwan and Hong Kong. For Beijing's rivals, the speech confirms sovereignty claims and absolute party control over the PLA remain core priorities — with the senior military purges making clear that dissent inside the system carries real costs.
