Chinese President Xi Jinping rejected any need to "westernize" and told officials that China must find a way to modernize that is both more efficient than capitalism and better protects social justice.

What Happened: Xi, in a speech to senior officials — including all the other members of the Standing Committee of the Politburo, Central Committee members, provincial leaders and ministers — said that Beijing should better balance and unify efficiency and fairness, state-owned Xinhua news agency reported.

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Innovation must be placed in a prominent position in overall national development, which should achieve higher efficiency than capitalism while maintaining fairness in society more effectively, Xi said.

"Chinese-style modernization breaks the myth of ‘modernization equals Westernization' and "provides a Chinese solution for human beings to explore a better social system," the president said. 

"Experience has proved that Chinese-style modernization is feasible and stable, and it is the only correct path for building a strong country and rejuvenating the nation," he added.

Xi added that the core of achieving Chinese-style modernization lies with sticking to the Communist Party leadership – that this will decide the "ultimate success or failure." 

Addressing the damage done by COVID-19 disruptions, Xi said that the country must strive to achieve an overall improvement in economic activity this year.

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