"We should firmly uphold China's territorial sovereignty, maritime rights and interests and national unity," Xi told a Communist Party meeting on foreign affairs held on Friday and Saturday, according to excerpts of his speech released by Xinhua on Sunday.
Xi, both China's president and Communist Party secretary, added his country would "properly handle territorial and island disputes" but did not name them.
On a more conciliatory note, Xi told officials at the meeting that China sought "peaceful development" and opposed the "wilful use or threat of force".
The Chinese leader made no direct reference to the United States in the portions of his speech released by Xinhua, other than saying Beijing should "manage well" relations with other major countries.
"We should fully recognise the uncertainty in China's neighbouring environment, but we should also realise that the general trend of prosperity and stability in the Asia-Pacific region will not change," Xi said.
Read more at AFP
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