Chinese President Xi Jinping's 2026 New Year message was a powerful reflection of China's resilience, confidence and forward-looking strategy in high-quality development, according to observers around the world.
International voices highlighted how the message, delivered by Xi on New Year's Eve, underscores China's remarkable achievements and its ambitious plans for sustainable growth through innovation and social development.
"President Xi Jinping's New Year's message was very inspiring. He vividly connected the nation's grand goals with individual and family life. President Xi said, 'No issue of the people is too small; we care for every leaf and tend every branch in the garden of people's well-being,' detailing Chinese modernization and common prosperity into concrete and feasible measures to improve people's lives, such as childcare subsidies, age-friendly renovations, and protection of the rights of newly employed groups. This clearly reflects the people-oriented development philosophy," said Ronnie Lins, executive director of the Brazil-China Research and Business Center.
Philip Laird, vice president of Trinity Western University in Canada, described the Chinese president's message as laying out a clear path for the country's future.
"President Xi Jinping's 2026 New Year's address is a powerful and forward-looking message that reflects China's confidence, resilience and long-term strategic vision. In his address, President Xi not only reviewed China's remarkable achievements but also outlined a clear direction for the future. China's innovation capacity has risen rapidly to the forefront of the world. Breakthroughs in areas such as digital technology, artificial intelligence, green energy, advanced manufacturing, e-vehicles, and space science reflect President Xi's strong emphasis on innovation as the primary driving force of development. This focus has laid a strong foundation for China's long-term competitiveness and sustainable growth," said Laird.
The New Year's message highlighted China's pursuit of innovation in particular. Jorge Heine, former Chilean ambassador to China, pointed out that this can also be seen the country's research investments.
"(Xi underscored China's) commitment to increase innovation and to increase progress in critical high-tech areas. And here, I would like to underscore one figure that is very significant, and that is the spending on research and development in China, which is now close to 3 percent of GDP, which is close to 600 billion dollars. So, this is a very significant amount, only surpassed by the United States. And it shows what President Xi refers to as the quality productive forces that are associated with high-tech development and that has been so important for the Chinese economy," Heine said.
Global observers hail Xi's New Year message
As Chinese people welcomed the arrival of the year 2026 on Thursday, the first rays of dawn bathed China's vast and varied landscapes in golden light, symbolizing renewal and hope.
In northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, the sun rose over Jiayin County of Yichun City, casting a soft glow across snow-laden forests.
Jiayin is known as the "hometown of dinosaurs", where China's first dinosaur fossil was unearthed in 1902.
Further south, in Tonghua City of Jilin Province, the meeting of warm, moist air and freezing cold created a fairy-tale spectacle: rime ice glistened on every branch of the Sifangshan Forest Park, shimmering like crystal under the morning sun.
In east China's Shandong Province, dawn broke over the renowned Mount Tai, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The sunrise there, long celebrated in Chinese poetry and art, unfolded like a majestic natural film, drawing awe from those who gathered especially to witness it on the first day of the new year.
In the Yangtze River Delta, the sun cast a golden glow over the newly built "Fangting Shuiyuan" (lit. square hall courtyard), a striking structure that straddles the metropolis Shanghai, and the two provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
Perched above the Taipu River, this "shared living room" of the region stands as a symbol of integrated and coordinated development of the region.
Morning light also pierced through racks of laver farms off Xiapu County of Ningde City in east China's Fujian Province.
There, fishermen began their year with a quiet resolve, their hopes for a bountiful harvest mirrored in the golden ripples on the sea.
In Shanwei City of south China's Guangdong Province, the Nantian Lake scenic area emerged from lingering mist. The dawn painted the surrounding peaks in hues of rose and amber, blending the lake and mountains into a living ink-wash masterpiece.
In northwest China, the sun crested the peaks of Liupan Mountain in Guyuan City of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
Once the final major barrier crossed by the Red Army during the Long March 90 years ago, this "mountain of victory" stood solemn and proud, its slopes bathed in light that honored both the region's historic sacrifice and present-day progress.
In the revolutionary heartland of Yan'an City, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, the iconic Baota Hill glowed in the morning sun, while life bustled below in streets that blend heritage with modernity.
Amid the Taihang Mountains in Yangquan City of north China's Shanxi Province, sunlight danced across snow-laden pines and their frozen branches, turning the winter forest into a gallery of ice and jade.
Along the Yangtze River, China's longest river, Yichang City of central China's Hubei Province emerged from the morning haze.
Home to the monumental Three Gorges Dam, the city now embodies the country's shift towards green development.
In Weining Yi-Hui-Miao Autonomous County of southwest China's Guizhou Province, the Caohai National Nature Reserve slowly warmed under the sun's gentle caress.
Black-necked cranes, a species under top-class national protection, stirred from slumber, their elegant forms gliding across golden waters veiled in mist, a testament to the country's ecological conservation progress.
The sun also crowned the peaks of Wuzhi Mountain in south China's island province of Hainan. Clouds swirled like liquid gold around the summits, while the vast tropical rainforest at the mountain's foot pulsed with life, ready to greet a hopeful new year.
China's splendid landscapes bathed in New Year's sunrise glow
