President Xi Jinping's address on CPC’s 105th anniversary:
Five major takeaways on Achievements, National Rejuvenation, and Reunification
Acsah H
On 01 July, China’s President Xi Jinping addressed a gathering in Beijing to mark the 105th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of China (CPC), outlining the Party's achievements, future priorities, and vision for China's development and global role. During the event, he conferred the July 1 Medal, the Party's highest individual honour, on distinguished Party members, in the presence of senior leaders including Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi, and Vice-President Han Zheng.
Following are the five takeaways from Xi's address.
1. CPC as the driving force behind China's transformation
In his address, President Xi presented the party’s history as the "most magnificent epic" of China. Underlining that China over the century has undergone tremendous change that can be measured. This has lifted millions of people in China out of poverty and connected its regions with modern infrastructure. He also added that China is emerging as a global leader in various sectors of manufacturing, scientific innovation, digital technology, and renewable energy. Xi emphasized the important role of CPC in adapting the ideology of Marxism to China’s national conditions. He also added that: "Time stops for no one, and neither does history,” pressing the party to continue the pursuit of socialist modernisation of the country and not to slow the pace. This demonstrated that China’s model of modernisation is different from that of the western model that has been influencing countries around the world. He recognised modernisation not simply as one that focuses on economic growth but on the improvement of the overall quality of life for people. He reaffirmed the timeline to realise modernisation by 2035 and to build a great modern socialist country by mid-century.
2. A faster push towards national rejuvenation and "world-class" military
First, President Xi stated that the CPC opened the path for national rejuvenation by influencing the course of world history and placing China as a crucial player in global governance. Referring to China’s global role through initiatives that promote development through infrastructure, trade, investment, green initiatives, and technology cooperation. He framed party's central mission as delivering "the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.”
Second, President Xi also urged the party to have absolute leadership over the armed forces and the People's Liberation Army to meet its centenary goals by its founding anniversary on 01 August 2027, wanting it to be a "world-class" force. Military strength and political loyalty are being pursued as one project.
3. CPC’s ideology remains the core of governance
President Xi reiterated that "This country is its people; the people are the country.” He emphasised that all governance efforts must translate into tangible benefits for the public, driving shared prosperity and meeting the populace's aspirations for a better life. He vowed to win the "tough, protracted and all-out battle against corruption" and to eliminate "all viruses that erode the party's healthy body" and factors undermining its "purity." This came after he oversaw investigations of millions of officials, including top generals. The anti-graft message is not a new announcement but rather a signal of intensification and continued demand for discipline.
4. Support for adaptability and building international order
President Xi also warned that China faces a period where "strategic opportunities, risks and challenges coexist," urging the Party to withstand "high winds and rough waves" and even "violent storms." He did not name specific threats; however, sources fill the gaps and point to Western curbs on technology. He stated that China does not seek to replace the existing global system but aims to change and adapt it. He called for building "a new type of international relations" based on cooperation rather than zero-sum games or hegemony.
5. CPC’s mission to complete reunification
President Xi repeated that resolving the Taiwan question and achieving "complete reunification" is the party's unswerving historic mission. As he places emphasis on sovereignty and national independence, this reflects China’s domestic priorities and its foreign policy principle that countries should resolve their own internal affairs without external interference. Under the goal of unification, Xi pledges to crack down on independent "separatist forces" and oppose external interference while also calling for cross-strait exchanges and economic integration.
Acsah H is a postgraduate student at the Department of Geopolitics and International Relations, Manipal Institute of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts, MAHE, Manipal, Udupi. She is currently a research intern at the National Institute of Advanced
PM Taikachis’s India visit:
Economic Security, Artificial Intelligence and Energy Resilience
Deb Dutta
What happened?
During 01–03 July, Japan’s PM Sanae Takachi took part in the 16th India-Japan Annual Summit held in New Delhi. She met with PM Narendra Modi to review bilateral cooperation and discuss regional and global issues. The summit was followed by Modi's visit to Tokyo in August 2025.
During the summit, three major joint statements have been signed on Economic Security, Artificial Intelligence, and Energy Resilience focusing on strengthening supply chain resilience, advancing cooperation in emerging technologies and AI governance, and enhancing collaboration on clean energy, energy transition, and resilient energy systems.
Additionally, 129 Memoranda of Understanding signed by the two countries at an Economic Forum that was held along with the summit. More than 150 Japanese firms attended this forum, including Suzuki, Itochu, and Toyota Tsusho.
What is the background?
1. A brief note on India-Japan relations
The India-Japan relationship has evolved steadily over the years since their civil nuclear cooperation agreement in 2015. In 2016, India and Japan had inaugurated the India-Japan Act East Forum that focused on building connectivity in India’s Northeast region. Japan is the single largest provider of Official Development Assistance to India, and this includes concessionary loans for building the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train. This meeting follows up on the Joint Vision for the Next Decade that was signed at the 15th summit in Tokyo in August last year.
2. Growing emphasis on economic security
The growing emphasis on economic security roadmap are driven by specific challenges that have arisen recently. The challenge regarding the fragility of global supply chains for semiconductors and critical minerals was clear during the pandemic and growing geopolitical tensions. China's monopoly on the processing of rare earth minerals, together with the ability of this country to apply export restrictions in political interests, has made it necessary for the two countries to look for another source of raw materials. In the case of Japan, India is an option, seen as an alternative source of workers and production facilities. For India, cooperation with Japan helps the country obtain investments and advanced technologies to produce semiconductors. The lack of chips in 2021-2023 demonstrated the threat of having a limited number of foreign partners.
3. Expanding cooperation in Artificial Intelligence and emerging technologies
This cooperation reflects pressures on both sides. Japan's shrinking working-age population has created a shortage of skilled technology workers, while India has one of the world's largest pools of engineers and software talent. Global competition in AI is intensifying, led mainly by the United States and China, and this is pushing middle powers like Japan and India to pool resources rather than depend entirely on either. Working together also allows both countries a greater say in shaping AI governance standards, instead of simply adopting rules set by larger powers.
4. Evolving partnership in energy transition and resilient clean energy
Such collaboration is driven by common exposure to energy shocks. Importing a lot of energy in the form of oil and gas exposes both countries to the dangers of Middle Eastern instability and the Strait of Hormuz. Recent events in the Middle East highlight this vulnerability as well as how fast energy prices could go up. Climate-related promises also force both countries to move away from fossil fuel-based energy towards energy diversity. Japan is a good partner because of its capital investment and technological advances in nuclear energy and other sources of clean energy. India’s advantages in this regard include the potential of scale in renewable and hydrogen-based energy projects.
What does it mean?
First, economic security, technology, and energy become the core pillars of the relationship. The visit shows these factors as core pillars and not side topics. Cooperation is moving from general goodwill toward concrete joint initiatives, seen in the three joint statements and the scale of Japanese business participation at the summit. Japan is now treating India as a strategic and economic partner, not simply an aid recipient.
Second, China remains the unspoken subject of this summit. Much of the push behind economic security and energy resilience comes from a shared wish to reduce dependence on China, whether for rare earths, semiconductors, or energy routes. Yet neither side named China directly in their statements. This shows both countries want to hedge against China without provoking it, keeping the partnership deliberately ambiguous on this point.
Third, doubts about the Quad's future may be pushing Japan to invest more in this one-on-one relationship. The Trump administration has taken a more transactional approach toward China. This has raised questions about how committed the US remains to countering Beijing in the Indo-Pacific. Growing bilateral cooperation in technology and energy suggests Japan now sees its direct partnership with India as more reliable and durable than the wider Quad grouping.
Deb Dutta completed his graduation from the Department of Political Science, Sir Aurobindo International Centre of Education (SAICE), Puducherry. He is currently an intern at NIAS.
