Wu Qiang, a political commentator in Beijing, said that the speech was a “political declaration of antagonism” towards those trying to change China’s model or thwart its rise.

“It is a fundamental political statement,” said Wu. “China will adopt an antagonist stance, position and approach to handle the deterioration in China-US relations.”

“It betrays a siege mentality – the thinking in Beijing among the top leadership now is that China is under siege,” he said, which could mean China is less able “to reach compromises with other international powers” on global governance.

The Chinese word douzheng, which is translated as “struggle”, appeared nearly 60 times in the speech’s summary.

A hallmark term in Chinese politics during the Cultural Revolution, its use faded from official rhetoric in recent decades, as former paramount leader Deng Xiaoping started economic liberalisation at home and kept a low profile abroad, a policy continued by former presidents Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao.

An opinion piece on Xiakedao, a social media account run by the overseas edition of People’s Daily, said that China would be forced to engage in a number of different struggles.

      The trade war between China and US, for instance, broke out all of a sudden. Nobody officially notified us, even one day in advance, about the upcoming trade war      Xiakedao editorial 

“Struggle is always an uninvited guest and it will not go away because of our good intentions,” it read. “The trade war between China and US, for instance, broke out all of a sudden. Nobody officially notified us, even one day in advance, about the upcoming trade war,” the editorial reads. “It just came. That is a struggle.”

Xi said China should not “give up an inch on principal issues” but must be flexible in tactics, to achieve unity and “a win-win out of the struggles”.

Xi took a poetic turn to tell Communist cadres they must be able to “notice a deer passing by, looking at the grass and leaves, see a tiger jumping out by hearing the wind in the pines, and know the coming of autumn by spotting the changed colour of a tree leaf”.

Li Mingjiang, an expert in international studies at Nanyang Technological University, said Xi was trying to “stimulate morale” amid an increasingly bumpy relationship with the US.

Li acknowledged that the repeated reference to “struggle” could look “quite scary” to outsiders, since it could stir fears of China using “unilateral coercion to get what it wants”.

However, he said that the real meaning is more nuanced. “It is not just an all-out confrontational approach to get what you want, to subdue your rivals or enemies – it is also about flexibility, and the art of the struggle,” Li said.

Additional reporting by Nectar Gan

Just some definitions so we all understand each other.