By Debby Wu
Nikkei Staff Writer
BEIJING (Oct 18) -- Chinese President and Communist Party chief Xi Jinping kicked off his party's once every five-year national congress on Wednesday, a rare rainy day for the autumn season, delivering a keynote speech outlining his vision for a second term as party head.
"The main theme of the congress is that we should not forget our initial wish and we should remember our mission, to hoist the great flag of socialism with Chinese characteristics, to comprehensively build a moderately prosperous society, to snatch the grand victory of socialism with Chinese characteristics in a new era, to relentlessly strive for the grand renaissance of the Chinese race," Xi said in his opening remarks.
