Delegates applaud after a speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping during the opening ceremony of the 20th National Congress of China's ruling Communist Party at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022.

BEIJING — Chinese leader Xi Jinping signaled Sunday that his government would maintain policies that have put it at odds with the U.S. and other nations and deepened Communist Party control of the economy and society.

Xi, speaking at the opening of a twice-a-decade party congress that is expected to give him a third five-year term, extolled the achievements of the past five years and said the party would strive to achieve what it calls the "rejuvenation" of the nation.

"Our future is bright, but we still have a long way to go," Xi said to the more than 2,000 delegates attending the opening, held in the massive Great Hall of the People that overlooks Tiananmen Square in the center of Beijing.

"We must foster a firmer sense of purpose, fortitude and self-belief in the whole party and the Chinese people so that we cannot be swayed by fallacies, deterred by intimidation or cowed by pressure," he said.

A third term for Xi would break with recent precedent and further establish him as arguably the most powerful Chinese politician since Mao Zedong.

Xi called for further investments in the party's military wing, the People's Liberation Army, and reaffirmed that China will not rule out using force to bring the self-governing island of Taiwan under its control.

"Reunification definitely must be achieved and reunification definitely will be achieved," he said.

Taiwan and China split during a civil war in 1949 that brought the communists to power in China. Many Taiwanese reject the term "reunification," saying they were never part of communist China.

With Xi expected to remain, little change is foreseen in China's economic and foreign policies, as well as in his intolerance of criticism and hardline approach to COVID-19 including quarantines and travel bans.

Xi defended the pandemic response, saying it "put the people and their lives above all else."

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the 20th National Congress of China's ruling Communist Party held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022. Mark Schiefelbein/AP hide caption