CHINESE President Xi Jinping vowed to build a “great modern socialist country” as he addressed the Communist Party congress in Beijing yesterday.

However, he warned that the challenges of the nine-year economic downturn would have to be overcome.

In his speech to more than 2,000 delegates at the Great Hall of the People, near Tiananmen Square, on the first day of the party’s 19th five-yearly conference, Mr Xi outlined a two-phase development plan to run from 2020 to 2050.