South China Morning Post reported on May 23, 2017, that with just a few months to go before the 19th Party Congress, Guangdong Province Party Secretary Hu Chunhua made a high-profile declaration of his political loyalty in front of the Provincial Party Congress on May 22. He mentioned President Xi Jinping 26 times  in his nearly 100-minute speech, referring to him seven times as the "party’s core" and stressing the importance of concepts earlier proposed by the state leader. He mentioned reform 54 times. There were also 81 references to 'innovation' and Hu Chunhua reiterated the plan to increase investment in research and development to 3 per cent of Guangdong’s gross domestic product in five years, from the current level of slightly over 2.5 per cent. Hu Chunhua dedicted 3000 words to emphasise his 'political loyalty' and pledged to “absolutely safeguard the authority of the central leadership with Xi as its core” and to strictly toe its line, to “unify the minds of all party members and cadres in the province” with Xi’s governing ideas, and to place political principle and discipline as a top priority.