BEIJING -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, announced on Thursday that China has realized the first centenary goal -- building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

"This means that we have brought about a historic resolution to the problem of absolute poverty in China, and we are now marching in confident strides toward the second centenary goal of building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects," Xi, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said at a ceremony marking the CPC centenary.