Beijing, China - Following the purging of ex-defense ministers Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe over corruption charges, China's President Xi Jinping has unveiled radical reforms designed to stimulate economic growth.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday announced that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) would take measures to restructure the economy and promote growth that has been absent since the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the World Bank, China has averaged an annual growth rate of about 9% since it began its policy of economic reform and opening-up in 1978.

Despite the onset of Covid-19 in 2020, China managed to maintain a growth rate of about 8.4% through to the end of 2021. But Beijing's insistence on a "Zero-Covid" strategy more than halved that rate in 2022 and the economy has struggled to recover since.

China Taiwan calls for return of fishing boat seized by the Chinese Coast Guard

Now, President Xi Jinping revealed in a speech quoted by AFP that the CCP plans on "implementing major measures to further deepen reform in a comprehensive manner" that results in the forming of a "more market-oriented, legal, and international business environment."

The shift came against the backdrop of the celebrations of 70 years since China's communist revolution, which Jinping described in a speech as "a groundbreaking and epoch-making achievement in the history of international relations."

One of the first steps in the reinvigorating of China's economy will be the Third Plenum, which will occur between July 15 and 18, which, according to Xinhua, "will primarily examine issues related to further comprehensively deepening reform and advancing Chinese modernization."

Less than a few days before Xi Jinping announced the reforms, the CCP was embroiled in the purging of two former defense ministers from its ranks.

Amid heightening tensions with the US over Taiwan to the east and the Philippines to the south, Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe were ejected from the party over allegations of corruption and bribery.

The purging of high-ranking military officials is reminiscent of similar actions taken by Xi Jinping during the early days of his premiership, when a widespread "anti-corruption" crackdown took place, sending hundreds into state prisons.

China Philippines warn of nuclear danger amid China clashes as US says it seeks de-escalation

In his speech Friday, Xi did strike a more conciliatory tone as far as strained international relations are concerned.

"In the course of the modern history of human society," he said Xi. "Handling well state-to-state relations, jointly maintaining world peace and tranquility, and promoting development and progress for humanity have always been big topics on the minds of all nations."