Some highlights of President Hu Jintao's speech at a meeting celebrating the 30th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up are as follows:

-- The 3rd plenary session of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China established again the ideological, political and organizational lines of Marxism, symbolizing the great wakening of the Chinese Communists.

-- We calmly dealt with a series of international emergencies which concerned our country's sovereignty and security, overcoming political and economic difficulties as well as natural risks.

-- This particular moment is inspiring our deep memory of Comrade Mao Zedong, Comrade Deng Xiaoping and the rest of the older generation of revolutionists.

-- Without democracy, neither socialism nor socialist modernization could be realized.

-- We need to learn all creams of political civilization of the human society, but will never copy the mode of the Western political institutions.

-- We have to wisely handle the case of participating in the economic globalization while keeping independence, comprehensively arrange both domestic and international tasks, and make contributions to the lofty cause of peace and development in the world.

-- China has no chance to develop itself without the world while the world needs China to go ahead with development.

-- We firmly uphold the idea that Chinese affairs must be handled by Chinese people in a Chinese way, and oppose any foreign forces to interfere in Chinese domestic affairs.

-- The country that develops asserts itself, and to keep stability is an overriding task. We will achieve nothing without stability.

-- The progressiveness of a political party and its ruling status are not things that are obtained once and for all. That it was progressive doesn't necessarily mean it is progressive and will still be progressive. The power it had doesn't ensure that it's only right and proper to have the power now, let alone have it forever.

-- Don't sway back and forth, relax our efforts or get sidetracked, but firmly push forward the reform and opening-up as well as adhere to socialism with Chinese characteristics. In that way, we will definitely achieve our grand blueprint and ambitious objectives (on realizing modernization in the middle of the 21st century).

-- The reform and opening-up policies are in accord with both the Party consensus and the public will, and in compliance with the trend of the times. The direction and the path are completely correct, the results and achievements cannot be denied, any halt or retreat is unacceptable.

(Xinhua News Agency December 18, 2008)