Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, elaborated China's opposition on some countries' interfering with others' domestic affairs and stressed China's resolute attitude on safeguarding its sovereignty in a speech at a rally marking the Party's 95th founding anniversary on Friday. 

Xi said "China holds that regardless of size, strength and wealth, all countries are equal, and all peoples have the right to choose their own development paths."

He added that it's for the people of all countries to decide through consultations what international order and global governance systems can benefit the world and people of all nations.

Su Wei, a professor at the Party School of the CPC Chongqing Committee, told the Global Times on Friday that this is another time for China to elaborate its peaceful development path since some Western countries always talk of the "China threat" and neglect China's contributions to regional stability.

 "China will never give up our lawful rights. Chinese people do not believe fallacies and nor are we afraid of evil forces. Chinese people do not make trouble, but we are not cowards when involved in trouble," Xi said.

Su said that China has been confronted with more provocations from other countries recently, and that Beijing needs to make it clear that although China sticks to peaceful development, it doesn't mean it would make any compromise on sovereignty, especially with the recent problems in the South China Sea.

Xi also mentioned that China will not resort to the threat of force at will, nor will it "flaunt its military power on others' doorsteps at the drop of a hat."

"Flaunting power everywhere will not reflect strength and it will not scare anyone," Xi said, stressing China's military strategy of "active defense."

China's firm stance on sovereignty was echoed in top officials' remarks.

An international tribunal based in The Hague on Wednesday said it will announce its decision on July 12 in the arbitration initiated by the Philippines against China.

Chinese foreign ministry said Wednesday that the tribunal has no jurisdiction over the case, and "China does not accept any means of third-party dispute settlement or any solution imposed on China."

China cannot afford to lose an inch of its territory and called on the US to hold an objective view on the South China Sea and East China Sea issues, Fang Fenghui, chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, said at a joint press briefing on May 15, adding that "We are not afraid of trouble."

Xinhua contributed to the stories