The Chinese President said that only the Communist Party can “save” China, and that people and the party are inseparable.

Chinese President Xi Jinping told the crowd gathered in Beijing that the era of “bullying” in China is over, and anyone who tries to split the party and the Chinese people is doomed to fail because the celebration of the centenary of the Communist Party is underway in China capital.

On the balcony above Mao Zedong’s portrait in Tiananmen Square, Xi Jinping gave a speech for more than an hour, telling the party’s achievements since its founding in 1921-how it liberated China from the “exploitative” feudal system and created a “society” The socialist market economy is “vibrant” and eliminates absolute poverty.

“Only socialism can save China,” said Xi Jinping in a dark gray Mao Zedong suit. “Only socialism with Chinese characteristics can develop China.”

In 1949, the Chinese Communist Party defeated the nationalists in the civil war, and Mao Zedong announced the establishment of the People’s Republic of China with the goal of lifting the people out of extreme poverty. China is now the second largest economy in the world.

Al Jazeera reporter Katrina Yu from Beijing said that Xi Jinping’s basic message is that the party “delivered on its promise” and made “China great again”.

The celebrations come as Beijing faces trade pressures — where tensions with countries such as the United States and Australia have increased — and its policies in the far-western Xinjiang region, as well as Hong Kong and Tibet. There are also questions about the COVID-19 pandemic, which appeared in the center of Wuhan and continues to cause severe damage worldwide.

Under the leadership of an increasingly confident party and state, Xi Jinping warned that any attempt to split the party and the people is “doomed to fail.”

Data released on Wednesday showed that the number of party members increased by 2.43 million last year, the largest increase since Xi Jinping became president in 2013.

Although China “welcomes[d] Friendly suggestions from all over the world,” Xi Jinping said, the country will not accept “arrogant lectures.”

The loudest applause and cheers rang out. Xi Jinping said that the Chinese people “will no longer allow any foreign forces to bully and oppress us” and anyone who tries to do so will be “overwhelmed by the perseverance of the Chinese nation.”

“No one should underestimate the will and strength of the Chinese nation to resist foreign forces,” Xi Jinping added.

The centennial celebration in Beijing began with a flyby, and about 30 military aircraft formed a “100” in the sky above the cheering crowd. There were also trumpets and horns playing communist songs, and a 100-gun salute was fired into the sky during the extravagant celebration of national pride.

The entire country was mobilized to celebrate this day—from the big city Shanghai where the CCP was founded and the first party congress—to the small Xinjiang towns where Beijing was accused of suppressing the rights of Uyghur minorities.

Xi Jinping lifted the two-term limit on the president of the country and is considered China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong. He met with other senior leaders on the southern wall of the Forbidden City.

Guided by Yuan Shao on the poster