It was an impeccably choreographed event ... ... designed to showcase China's transformation
from an inward-looking farming-based society to the economic giant it is today.
The country's President Xi Jinping credited 40 years of what he termed "socialism with
Chinese characteristics" for lifting people out of poverty ... and putting China on the
international stage.
But that stage - now more than ever before - is fraught with tension.
In a thinly-veiled reference to his country's months-long trade dispute with the United
States, Xi had this to say: There is no textbook of rules to follow for
the reforms and opening of China.
A country with five thousand years of history and civilisation and with a population of
more than 1.3 billion people.
No one is in a position to dictate to the Chinese people what should or shouldn't be
done.
No one - not even, seemingly, the leader of the most powerful economy in the world.
This footage shows Xi Jinping having dinner with US President Donald Trump at the G20
summit in Argentina earlier this month.
The result was an agreement to a 90-day truce in their trade conflict.
But the arrest, since then of a top executive at Chinese tech equipment giant Huawei has
left that truce on shakier ground than ever.
The tone coming from Beijing today - was defiant.
China won't be pushed around.