Xi Jinping: China entering 'new era' of power amid 'complex changes' abroad, says Chinese Premier

Chinese President Xi Jinping has pledged to usher in a "new era" that will be proudly Chinese, amid "complex changes" at home and abroad.

Speaking at the opening of the Communist Party congress, Mr Xi laid out his vision for an increasingly prosperous China, calling for the party to safeguard China's sovereignty and pledging to become a modern socialist "strong power".

Striking a decidedly nationalist tone, he said China must revitalise its culture, oppose "erroneous" ideology and promote religion that is "Chinese in orientation."

He also urged the party to encourage stronger social and economic development to better address "grim" challenges facing the country.

"Through a long period of hard work, socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, this is a new historical direction in our country's development," he said, using the term "new era" 36 times.

"The great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is no walk in the park or mere drum-beating and gong-clanging. The whole party must be prepared to make ever more difficult and harder efforts...to achieve great dreams there must be a great struggle."

Mr Xi addressed more than 2,000 delegates in Beijing's cavernous Great Hall of the People, including 91-year-old former president Jiang Zemin, under tight security.

In a wide-ranging speech that lasted nearly three and a half hours, Mr Xi promised China would be fully engaged with the world in what has been interpreted as a veiled jibe at US President Donald Trump's "America first" policy.

"No country can alone address the many challenges facing mankind; no country can afford to retreat into self-isolation," Mr Xi said.

Mr Xi said he envisioned China developing into a "basically" modernised socialist country by 2035, becoming one of the world's most innovative countries with the income gap between urban and rural residents significantly reduced, and its environmental woes fundamentally eliminated.

By 2050, he said he believed China would become a modern socialist "strong power" with leading influence on the world stage.

But he signalled there would be no political reforms.

"We should not just mechanically copy the political systems of other countries," he said. "We must unwaveringly uphold and improve party leadership and make the party still stronger."

Mr Xi praised the party's successes, particularly his high-profile anti-corruption campaign, which has seen more than a million officials punished and dozens of former senior officials jailed.

He warned the drive would never end as corruption was the "gravest threat" the party faced.

"We must remain as firm as a rock in our resolve to build on the overwhelming momentum and secure a sweeping victory," he said.

On self-ruled Taiwan, claimed by Beijing as its own, Mr Xi said China would never allow the island to separate from China, and said China would strive to fully transform its armed forces into a world-class military by the mid-21st century.

He made no mention of neighbouring North Korea, which has angered Beijing with repeated nuclear and ballistic missile tests in defiance of UN sanctions and which sent a congratulatory message ahead of the meeting.

Mr Xi has consolidated power swiftly since assuming the party leadership in 2012, locking up political rivals for corruption, restructuring the military and asserting China's rising might on the world stage.

Additional reporting by Reuters