China won't develop at expense of other nations: Xi

Premier of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping pledged that his country will not develop at the expense of other nations, in a speech marking 40 years of reform.

In his speech from the Great Hall of the People in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, Xi said despite China's growth, it would "never seek global hegemony" and also highlighted Beijing's contributions towards a "shared future for mankind", the BBC reported.

Late leader Deng Xiaoping's campaign of "reform and opening up" was initiated in 1978 and the program was ratified on December 18 that year. The success of China's economic policies and the manner of their implementation resulted in immense changes in Chinese society. Deng created a series of special economic zones for foreign investment that were relatively free of the bureaucratic regulations and interventions that hampered economic growth.

Xi spent much of his long speech listing examples of China's progress over the past decades, praising them as "epic achievements that moved heaven and earth".

He said that given its success, "no one is in a position to dictate to China what to do or not to do".

At the same time, he stressed what he described as Chinese efforts to work towards the greater global good, saying Beijing was a "promoter of world peace," a "defender of international order" and holding "a leading role in dealing with climate change".

Xi described Deng's reforms as a "break from the shackles" of previous mistakes.

The reform path turned the country away from the old style communism of Mao Zedong when collectivisation had led to an impoverished and inefficient economy.

The last 40 years had been a "quantum leap for socialism with Chinese characteristics," driving China's "great rejuvenation in modern times", the Premier added.