Fellow Deputies,

Building a solid national defense and strong armed forces is fundamental to safeguarding China’s sovereignty, security, and developmental interests. We must keep to the Party’s goal of strengthening the armed forces under the new conditions, uphold the fundamental principle of the Party’s absolute leadership over the armed forces, strengthen our efforts in all areas in a coordinated way to maintain military preparedness, and ensure border, coastal, and air defense security and stability. We will comprehensively strengthen modern logistics, step up national defense research and development of new- and high-technology weapons and equipment, and develop defense-related science and technology industries.

We will deepen the reform of national defense and the armed forces, and increase the level of rule of law in their development. We will strengthen efforts to modernize the armed police forces. We will raise public awareness of the importance of national defense, and improve mobilization for national defense and the building of reserve forces. We will coordinate national defense development and economic development and deepen the integration of the military and civil sectors. Governments at all levels must always take an active interest in and support the strengthening of our national defense and armed forces, and remain committed to consolidating and increasing the unity between the government and the armed forces and between the people and the armed forces.

Fellow Deputies,

We will steadfastly carry out the principles of “one country, two systems,” the people of Hong Kong governing Hong Kong, the people of Macao governing Macao, and both regions enjoying a high degree of autonomy, and we will strictly comply with the Constitution and the basic laws of these two regions. We will give full support to the chief executives and governments of the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions in governing their regions in accordance with the law, growing the economy, improving people’s standard of living, advancing democracy, and promoting social harmony.

We will ensure that the mainland and the two regions develop more exchange and cooperation in all fields, and that the two regions continue to play their special role in the country’s reform, opening up, and modernization. We are confident that with the central government continuing its strong support for Hong Kong and Macao, and with continuous improvements to their own competitiveness, these two regions will enjoy long-term prosperity and stability.

We will adhere to our policies concerning Taiwan and work to strengthen the political foundation of both sides of the Straits, upholding the 1992 Consensus and opposing the independence of Taiwan, and keep cross-Straits relations on the right course in peaceful development. We will strive to make progress in discussion and dialogue between the two sides of the Straits, advance cross-Straits economic integration for mutual benefit, and promote local and youth exchanges. We will protect the rights and interests of our compatriots from Taiwan in accordance with the law, and see that the fruits of peaceful growth of cross-Straits relations benefit more people. We hope that our compatriots on both sides of the Straits will continue to strengthen mutual understanding and trust, deepen their bonds of kinship, bring hearts and minds closer together, and work together to achieve China’s peaceful reunification. We are firmly confident that the peaceful growth of cross-Straits relations is a historical trend that can be neither resisted nor reversed.