China's unique development path is rooted in the historical continuity of its culture, President Xi Jinping told a cultural symposium in Beijing, in his latest effort to defend the legitimacy of the ruling Communist Party.
The Chinese civilisation is "the only uninterrupted one in the world", Xi said, as he called for the building of a modern version, adding that cultural inheritance, innovation and development remained key factors for China to grow into a global cultural powerhouse.
Pundits said Xi's emphasis on the need to boost confidence in China's history and culture also underlined the central leadership's concerns about the risks to political stability amid a narrative war against the US-led West.
