Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, attends a grand gathering to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the country's reform and opening-up at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 18, 2018. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

China held a grand gathering Tuesday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the country's reform and opening-up, a great revolution that has changed the destiny of the Chinese nation and influenced the world.

Addressing the meeting, Chinese President Xi Jinping described the reform and opening-up as "a great reawakening" of the Communist Party of China.

"Chinese Communists accomplished the most profound and the greatest social transformation in China's history and created the fundamental political conditions and the institutional foundation for all development and progress in China today," said Xi.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, addresses a grand gathering to celebrate the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, on Dec. 18, 2018. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei)

The following are some of Xi's key remarks on what China has achieved over 40 years of reform and opening-up, how the world has benefited as a result and how the nation will carry forward the endeavor.

--- The pursuit of reform and opening-up and socialism with Chinese characteristics is a milestone in realizing the Chinese nation's rejuvenation.

--- China has kept improving people's living standards and well-being over the past 40 years. It has lifted around 740 million people out of poverty in the 40 years, reducing the poverty headcount ratio by 94.4 percentage points. The nation has built the world's largest social security system, with the basic old-age pension covering more than 900 million people and medical insurance covering over 1.3 billion people.

--- China's development has provided successful experience and offered a bright prospect for other developing countries as they strive for modernization, representing a great contribution of the Chinese nation to the progress of human civilization.

The upper part (file) of this combo photo shows a view of Luohu District under construction in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province. The lower part taken on May 23, 2018 shows a new look of the district. (Xinhua)

--- The reform and opening-up in the past four decades has shown that Party leadership is the most essential attribute of socialism with Chinese characteristics and is the greatest strength of this system.

--- The practices over the past 40 years have shown that seeking happiness for the Chinese people and striving for rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is the founding aspiration and mission of the Communist Party of China, and those of the reform and opening-up endeavor.

--- Marxism must be upheld as the guiding ideology and more efforts should be made to explore theoretical innovations based on practice.

--- There is no textbook of golden rules to follow for reform and development in China, a country with over 5,000 years of civilization and more than 1.3 billion people.

The upper part (file) of this combo photo shows a science park in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province. The lower part taken on July 27, 2016 shows a science park zone in Shenzhen. (Xinhua)

--- Continued efforts should be made to improve and develop the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics to harness and enhance the advantages of China's system.

--- Continued efforts must be made to take development as the top priority and enhance China's composite national strength.

The upper part (file) of this combo photo shows Yumin Village in the 1980s in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province. The lower part taken on March 26, 2018 shows a new look of the village. (Xinhua)

--- The practice of reform and opening-up over the past 40 years has shown that openness brings progress, while seclusion leads to backwardness.

--- Continued efforts should be made to exercise full and rigorous governance over the Communist Party of China to strengthen its capacity to innovate, power to unite, and energy to fight.

--- The relationship among reform, development and stability must be correctly handled by maintaining the worldview and methodology of dialectical and historical materialism

--- A review of the past several thousand years shows that reform and opening-up remains the norm throughout China's history.