BRUSSELS — China's President Xi Jinping said on Thursday that China will not allow itself to be bullied and anyone who tries will face "broken heads and bloodshed in front of the iron Great Wall of the 1.4 billion Chinese people."

He was addressing a mass gathering in Tiananmen Square to mark the centenary of the ruling Communist Party.

Wearing a grey buttoned-up suit of the type worn by Mao Zedong, Xi spoke from the balcony of Tiananmen Gate, emphasizing the party's role in bringing China to global prominence and saying it would never be divided from the people.

"We Chinese are a people who uphold justice and are not intimidated by the threat of power and force. The Chinese people are people with a strong sense of pride and self-confidence. We have never bullied, oppressed or enslaved the people of any other country, not in the past, during the present or in the future," he said.

"At the same time, the Chinese people will absolutely not allow any foreign force to bully, oppress or enslave us. Anyone who attempts to do so will end up with broken heads and bloodshed in front of the iron Great Wall of the 1.4 billion Chinese people."

Deepening rivalry with America

China is enmeshed in a deepening rivalry with the United States for global power status and has clashed with India along their disputed border.

China also claims unpopulated islands held by Japan and almost the entire South China Sea, and it threatens to invade Taiwan, with which the US has boosted relations and military sales.

Xi said the party would retain absolute control over its military wing, the People's Liberation Army.

The military now has the world's second-largest budget after the US and has been adding aircraft carriers and sophisticated new aircraft, showcased in a flyover at the start of the ceremony featuring a squadron of China's J-20 stealth fighters.

Thousands of military personnel and other citizens attended the lavish ceremony in Tiananmen Square in the heart of Beijing.

Air force planes flew overhead in formation to create the number 100 in the air.

Thursday's events are the climax of weeks of ceremonies and displays praising the role of the party in bringing vast improvements in the quality of life at home, and restoring China's economic, political and military influence abroad.

While the progress dates mainly from economic reforms enacted by Deng Xiaoping four decades ago, the celebrations spotlight the role of Xi, who has established himself as China's most powerful leader since Mao. — Euronews