BEIJING -- A speech made by President Xi Jinping at a meeting commending role models in China's fight against the COVID-19 epidemic will be published on Friday in the Qiushi Journal, a flagship magazine of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.

Xi, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, delivered the speech at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Sept 8.

China has made major strategic achievements in the fight against COVID-19, demonstrating the notable advantages of the CPC leadership and the country's socialist system, Xi stressed in the speech, saying the Chinese people and the Chinese nation, inspired by the achievements, are sure to forge ahead on the new great journey in the new era.

The spirit demonstrated by the Chinese people and the Chinese nation in their courageous fight against the virus is characterized by putting people's lives first, nationwide solidarity, sacrifice, respect for science, and a sense of mission for humanity, Xi noted.

The fight against the COVID-19 epidemic, he said, has shown the strong leadership of the CPC, the unyielding will of the Chinese people, the outstanding advantages of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the tremendous national strength accumulated since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the great motivation provided by the power of core socialist values and fine traditional Chinese culture, and the extensive appeal of building a community with a shared future for humanity.

"No individual or force can stop the Chinese people's march toward a better life," Xi said.