Chinese leaders extend Spring Festival greetings

Chinese President Xi Jinping (C) and other top leaders attend a reception to extend Spring Festival greetings to all Chinese people as they meet with more than 2,000 members of the public in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 6, 2016. Li Keqiang, Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli were also present. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING - President Xi Jinping and other top leaders extended Spring Festival greetings to all Chinese people Saturday as they met more than 2,000 members of the public at a reception in Beijing.

Li Keqiang, Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli were also present.

Premier Li Keqiang delivered a speech at the gathering, greeting all Chinese in the mainland, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and at abroad. Full text of remarks at the 2016 Spring Festival reception by Premier Li Keqiang

Li also sent condolences to Taiwan compatriots for the strong 6.7-magnitude earthquake that hit Kaohsiung earlier in the day and has left 11 people dead.

Some major natural disasters and public security contingencies in the past year have brought the people's hearts closer together and authorities have put the people's security as top priority all the time, Li said.

"Over the past year, under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the General Secretary, China's reform and development has braved the storms and maintained medium-to-high growth despite the sluggish world economy," he said.