BEIJING -- President Xi Jinping on Friday addressed a gathering organized by the country's top political advisory body to ring in the year 2022.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), delivered an important speech at the gathering of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing.

Senior leaders Li Keqiang, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji, Han Zheng and Wang Qishan attended the gathering.

They were joined by leading officials of China's non-Communist parties and the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, personages with no party affiliation, officials of central Party and government departments, and individuals from various ethnic groups and sectors of society in Beijing.

On behalf of the CPC Central Committee, the State Council and the CMC, Xi extended New Year's greetings.

Noting that the CPC will convene its 20th national congress in 2022, Xi called for more strenuous efforts to foster a stable and healthy economic environment, a clean and upright political environment, and a peaceful and prosperous social environment.

Looking back at the past year, Xi hailed 2021 as a year of milestone significance.

Faced with arduous domestic tasks and a complex international landscape, China has led the world in economic development and COVID-19 prevention and control, securing a great start for the 14th Five-Year Plan, Xi said.

Xi said China has continued to take comprehensive steps to deepen reform. The country has basically completed the 50 major reform tasks set by the central commission for deepening overall reform, along with more than 100 other reforms, Xi said, adding that 216 reform plans have been formulated.

China achieved the goal of making systems in all areas notably more mature and better-defined by the time the CPC celebrated its centenary, Xi said.

In 2021, efforts were made to support and promote Hong Kong's return to the right track from chaos, and maintain prosperity and stability in Macao, he said.

With strong measures to overcome external challenges, China has advanced the peaceful development of relations across the Taiwan Strait, Xi said.

While advocating true multilateralism, China steadily advanced Belt and Road cooperation and kept its promise to make COVID-19 vaccines global public goods, making contributions to global peace and development, he said.

"In the year to come, we should uphold and improve the system of multiparty cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the CPC," Xi said, calling for efforts to consolidate and develop the broadest possible patriotic united front.

"We should do better in building consensus, and strive to pool extensive wisdom and strength to realize the goals and fulfill the missions of the Party and the state," Xi said.

To conclude his speech, Xi called on the Chinese people to strengthen their unity and work together to strive for new and greater victories and glory.

Wang Yang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, presided over the event.

Wang called for thorough efforts to study and implement the spirit of Xi's speech, giving full play to CPPCC's role as a special consultative body in state governance, and working tirelessly to build a modern socialist country in all respects and realize the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation.