Chinese President Xi Jinping has stressed support for the country’s vulnerable elderly and youth in a new year address that acknowledged the strains on some of the 1.4bn-strong population. Xi’s speech comes after his economic planners have for much of the past four years struggled to restore consumer confidence or address rising youth unemployment and slow wage growth.

Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized China’s commitment to global governance reform and assured the people about the economy, saying that the country has proactively responded to the impacts of the changing environment at home and abroad.

In his New Year’s speech, Chinese President Xi Jinping said, ‘The people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are one family. No one can sever our family bonds, and no one can stop the historical trend