VIDEO: President Magufuli sends congratulatory message to China
Dar es Salaam. President John Magufuli has today, October 1, sent a congratulatory message to President Xi Jiping and the citizens of the People’s Republic of China on the 70th anniversary of their nation.
On his twitter handle, the President reiterated Tanzania’s commitment towards maintaining the ties between the two countries that dates back several decades.
“On this occasion I pledge to further enhance our historic, friendly and fraternal ties,” reads part of the President’s message.
The 70th anniversary of the Chinese revolution was today celebrated with President Xi Jinping declaring that "no force" can shake the Chinese nation as he oversaw a massive military celebration of 70 years of the revolution.
Standing on the Tiananmen Square where Chairman Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949, Xi extolled the ‘Chinese dream’ of national rejuvenation -- his grand vision of restoring the country to perceived past glory.
"There is no force that can shake the foundation of this great nation," Xi said, wearing a "Mao suit" as he stood alongside party leaders in Tiananmen Square.
Around 15,000 soldiers, tanks and high-tech weapons were ready to file past Tiananmen Square for an event celebrating China's journey from a country broken by war and poverty to being the world's second-largest economy.
The Communist Party has repeatedly defied the odds to remain in power for seven decades.
Under Mao, tens of millions of people died during the disastrous Great Leap Forward, and the country was plunged into violent chaos during the decade-long Cultural Revolution.
After Mao's death in 1976, the party launched the reform and opening-up policy under paramount leader Deng Xiaoping, starting decades of breakneck growth and development.
But the party retained a stranglehold on power, sending troops to end the biggest challenge to its rule in 1989 when pro-democracy protesters occupied Tiananmen Square.
Xi has made clear that he believes only the Communist Party can make the country realise its dream -- with him at the helm.
"The Communist Party will continue to ensure that it remains the sole political authority in China," said Drew Thompson, visiting senior research fellow at Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.
"It will continue to adapt to do that and it will continue to seek to provide social goods and economic goods for its people, and as long as it continues to deliver those public goods, then it will likely stay in power, but the manner by which it does I think will change over time."
Additional Reporting by AFP
