BEIJING - "As long as the people from all ethnic groups across the country, under the Party's leadership, unite together with one heart and one mind and bravely and readily stand out for ourselves, we will definitely be able to overcome all the difficulties and challenges on our road ahead, and continue to create new impressive miracles."

These were President Xi Jinping's words on March 5, when he joined national lawmakers from Inner Mongolia for deliberation. He used a Chinese idiom, which roughly translates to "people, if united, are as strong as a fortress," to urge Chinese people of all ethnic groups to work hard in unity.

The idiom could be traced back to the Discourses of the States, a book believed to be from the Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC - 476 BC). It signifies that when people band together, they can overcome any difficulties.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said that working hard in unity is the path the Chinese people must take to make historic achievements.

Chairing a symposium with experts and scholars in June 2020, Xi noted that in the face of the sudden strike of COVID-19, all CPC members, the armed forces and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups have fought as one, made all-out efforts and put in place the most rigorous, comprehensive and thorough response measures.

The nation's major strategic achievements in the battle against COVID-19, Xi said, speak to the enormous power of unity when all CPC members, the armed forces and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups pull together to tide over the difficulties.