<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday hailed the Communist Party's rule and defended its Covid policies as he opened a five-yearly Congress at which thousands of delegates are set to endorse his bid to rule for a historic third term.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Xi walked onstage to thunderous applause from the roughly 2,300 delegates who had gathered at Beijing's Great Hall of the People for the event.</div><div><br></div><div>In his opening address the leader hailed the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and said the Congress was taking place at a "critical moment" for the country.</div><div><br></div><div>At the start of what is expected to be a lengthy speech, Xi also insisted China's Covid policies -- which are still placing heavy curbs on people's lives -- were for their safety.</div><div><br></div><div>He said the policies had "protected people's safety and health to the highest degree and achieved significant positive results".</div><div><br></div><div>China's Communist Party Congress opens to endorse Xi's rule</div><div><br></div><div>Xi also focused on two of China's most sensitive security and sovereignty issues at the start of speech -- in relation to Hong Kong and Taiwan.</div><div><br></div><div>Xi lauded Hong Kong's transition from "chaos to governance", while vowing a "major struggle against separatism and interference" in the self-ruled island of Taiwan.</div><div><br></div><div>Should everything go to plan for Xi, the 69-year-old will be reconfirmed as the party's general secretary after the week-long meeting, cementing his position as China's most powerful leader since Mao Zedong.</div><div><br></div><div>If picked as party leader for another five-year term as expected, Xi is almost certain to be elected president at the annual meeting of China's National People's Congress in March.</div><div><br></div><div><b>- Tight security -</b></div><div><br></div><div>A heavy police presence was in place around Beijing early Sunday as authorities prepared for the week-long Congress.</div><div><br></div><div>A fleet of buses whisked journalists and other attendees to a virtually empty Tiananmen Square and into the Great Hall of the People.</div><div><br></div><div>Participants navigated a string of security checks before entering the hall, where a giant hammer-and-sickle emblem hung over the stage on which top leaders are due to be seated.</div><div><br></div><div>"Long live the great, glorious and correct Chinese Communist Party," blared one of the bright red banners adorning the hall.</div><div><br></div><div>The delegates' main task is to endorse Xi's unprecedented campaign to rule for three terms.</div><div><br></div><div>Xi and the party's other top brass are likely to be unveiled on October 23, the day after the Congress closes.</div><div><br></div><div>In the highly choreographed, mostly closed-door conclave, the delegates will also pick members of the party's roughly 200-member Central Committee, which in turn selects the 25-person Politburo and its all-powerful Standing Committee -- the country's highest leadership body. AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/kh</div>