Rapturous applause greeted Chinese President Xi Jinping as he took the stage Sunday at the start of a carefully choreographed Communist Party Congress expected to confirm him as the country's most powerful leader since Mao Zedong.

Around 2,300 delegates gathered in Beijing's imposing Great Hall of the People, bedecked in the party's signature red and gold with banners bearing slogans hailing the "great, glorious and correct Chinese Communist Party".

Xi's opening speech came after a minute's silence for deceased party heroes, such as Mao and his successor Deng Xiaoping, and a live military band's rendition of the national anthem.

Beneath a giant hammer-and-sickle emblem, he spoke for around an hour and a half, presenting his scorecard of the government's work under his tenure and setting out his vision for his precedent-breaking third term.

Attendees diligently scribbled notes, with the occasional flash of colour from those in military attire or the traditional dress of one of China's ethnic minority groups punctuating a sea of monochrome suits.

Among more unusual delegates were the first Chinese woman to spacewalk, astronaut Wang Yaping, and Olympic hero speed skater Wu Dajing, wearing his national tracksuit.

In line with strict health protocols, all those attending were masked, apart from the front row of top-ranked guests.

These included Xi's predecessor Hu Jintao, grey-haired and looking frail, though Hu's predecessor Jiang Zemin did not appear to be in attendance.

Also present was Zhang Gaoli, a former vice premier accused by tennis star Peng Shuai of "forcing" her into sex, before she retracted her allegations after disappearing from public view for three weeks.

- 'He is the core' -

The Congress is a display of party unity and strength, with carefully vetted delegates drawn from all of China's provinces.

It is also a show of loyalty to Xi personally, with the 69-year-old expected to secure a third term as Communist Party general secretary, throwing out leader succession norms that have prevailed since the 1990s.

Guangxi delegate He Xiangyin told AFP she fully supported that move.

"As long as he (works) for the happiness of the people, and continues to improve our quality of life, we will all support him," she said. "He's the core of what we do."

Asked whether there were worries that there would be no one suitable to take over after Xi, Jiangsu delegate Li Yinjiang was dismissive.

"Our party will surely train someone properly for the role. Each generation passes the torch to the next," he said.

During the speech, thunderous clapping greeted Xi's mention of perceived successes, ranging from stamping out Covid-19 outbreaks to quelling unrest in Hong Kong.

The longest and loudest applause came for his comments on Taiwan, as he stated: "Reunification of the motherland must be achieved and will be achieved."

Xi made no direct mention of the northwestern region of Xinjiang, where Western countries have accused China of widespread human rights abuses against the country's Muslim minorities, primarily the Uyghurs.

"We in Xinjiang live such happy lives, because our great party is leading us... As a Uyghur person, I am extremely thankful that I can live here in China," Rehema Awuqi, from the party's Xinjiang delegation, told AFP after the speech.

In the week leading up to the event, Beijing has been spruced up with banners, exhibitions and flower arrangements extolling the party's virtues and Xi's political philosophy, and urging onlookers to "delightedly welcome" the Congress.

A heavy security presence was in place in the capital, with police standing sentry at major intersections and an increased number of personnel deployed on pedestrian bridges around the city.

The mostly closed-door conclave is taking place under China's strict zero-Covid policy, with journalists and other attendees holed up from Friday in a virus-secure bubble with mandatory mask-wearing and daily PCR tests.

Key moments from Xi's address to China's Communist Party Congress
Beijing (AFP) Oct 16, 2022 - President Xi Jinping kicked off China's five-yearly Communist Party Congress on Sunday with a wide-ranging speech defending Beijing's zero-Covid approach, hailing its anti-graft efforts and reasserting its ambition to absorb Taiwan by force if necessary.

The speech gave Xi an opportunity to tout his government's achievements to the conclave's roughly 2,300 delegates, ahead of being handed an expected third term in power at the end of the week.

AFP gives a rundown of key takeaways from Xi's opening address:

- 'Critical moment' -

Xi took the stage at Beijing's Great Hall of the People to thunderous applause, beginning his speech by hailing the Communist Party's rule and noting that the gathering came at a crucial time.

"The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China is a very important congress convened at a critical moment," Xi said.

- Putting 'lives first' -

After weathering months of criticism over the effects of his country's strict zero-Covid policy, Xi said China had put "the people and their lives first" when dealing with the pandemic.

He said China had "protected people's safety and health to the highest degree and achieved significant positive results in coordinating epidemic prevention and control with social and economic development".

Xi gave no sign that the rigid policy -- which has forced millions into lockdowns over just handfuls of cases as the rest of the world learns to live with the virus -- would relent anytime soon.

- Hong Kong and Taiwan -

China's increasing assertiveness in the Taiwan Strait, as well as its moves to snuff out dissent in Hong Kong following pro-democracy protests in 2019, have drawn pointed critiques from Western governments.

But Xi on Sunday hailed the end of what he described as the "chaos" in Hong Kong, while condemning "external forces" interfering in self-ruled Taiwan, which China claims as its own.

"The situation in Hong Kong has achieved a major transition from chaos to governance," he said, going on to pledge a "major struggle against separatism and interference" in Taiwan.

He later added that "the Taiwan issue... must be resolved by Chinese people alone".

"We... will never commit to abandoning the use of force, and reserve the option to take all necessary measures," Xi said in remarks greeted by thunderous applause.

- Anti-graft drive -

Xi told delegates that his long-running crackdown on corruption had put an end to "serious latent dangers" within the Communist Party, military and the state.

"The fight against corruption has won an overwhelming victory and has been comprehensively consolidated, eliminating serious latent dangers within the party, the state and the military," he said, referencing a campaign critics say has been used to curb internal dissent.

- Climate fight -

The Chinese president also vowed that Beijing was committed to the global fight against climate change.

China will "actively participate in global governance on climate change", Xi told delegates, committing to carbon emissions reduction while promising to "strengthen the clean and efficient use of coal".

Despite vowing to reduce coal use from 2026 as part of a broad set of climate promises, Beijing has stepped up spending on the fossil fuel in the face of extreme weather, a domestic energy crunch and rising global fuel prices -- raising concerns its policies may hinder the fight against climate change.

- 'Cold War mentality' -

Xi said Beijing opposed a "Cold War mentality" in international diplomacy, but made no mention of frayed relations with the United States.

"China... resolutely opposes all forms of hegemony and power politics, opposes the Cold War mentality, opposes interfering in other countries' domestic politics, opposes double standards," he said, claiming Beijing "will never seek hegemony and will never engage in expansion".

- Things left unsaid -

While the Chinese leader's speech referenced the fraught international climate, he notably made no mention of Russia's invasion of Ukraine or the major ripple effects the conflict has had on the global economy.

He also made no reference to the situation in China's western region of Xinjiang, where Beijing stands accused of widespread human rights abuses and detaining over a million Uyghur and other Muslim minorities in re-education camps.

Nor did his speech touch on the unprecedented crisis in China's real estate sector, where cash-strapped, debt-laden developers have seen sales plummet and confidence dashed in the housing market.

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China's Xi on course for historic third term at zero-Covid Congress
Beijing (AFP) Oct 13, 2022
China's 20th Communist Party Congress, which begins on Sunday, is expected to deliver President Xi Jinping a historic third term in control of a country his zero-Covid policy has closed off from much of the rest of the world. Should everything go to plan, by the end of the twice-in-a-decade meeting, the 69-year-old will be reconfirmed as the party's general secretary, cementing his position as China's most powerful leader since Mao Zedong. Security has been stepped up around Beijing's Tiananmen ... read more