China's president Xi calls for 'great renaissance'

BEIJING (AFP) - China's newly-installed president Xi Jinping said Sunday he would fight for a "great renaissance of the Chinese nation", in his first speech as head of state of the world's most populous country.

Xi called for "arduous efforts for the continued realisation of the great renaissance of the Chinese nation and the Chinese dream", in a speech to delegates at the National People's Congress parliament meeting in Beijing.

Calls for such a revival in the world's second-largest economy have been a motif of Xi's speeches since he took the top post in China's ruling communist party in November, but he has not given a detailed account of the phrase's meaning.

He has close ties to China's expanding military and called for the armed forces to strengthen their ability to "win battles", as it is embroiled in a bitter territorial row with Japan over islands in the East China Sea and disputes with neighbouring nations over claims to the South China Sea.