In his opening speech at the 19th Communist Party Congress, CPC General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the PRC's sovereignty over Taiwan, stating that “We have sufficient abilities to thwart any form of Taiwan independence attempts." At the same time, he offered the chance for open talks and "unobstructed exchanges" with Taiwan as long as the government moved to accept the 1992 consensus. His speech received a tepid response from Taiwanese observers, who argued that it did not signal any significant changes in Beijing's Taiwan policy, and showed "no significant goodwill, nor major malice."