BRUGES, Belgium, April 1 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday reaffirmed that China will continue following an independent foreign policy of peace.

"The Chinese people want peace; we do not want war. This is the reason why China follows an independent foreign policy of peace," Xi said as he addressed the students of the College of Europe.

The president said China has gone through many vicissitudes. For several thousand years before the industrial revolution, China had been leading the world in economic, technological and cultural development. However, feudal rulers of the 18th and 19th centuries closed the door of China in boastful ignorance, and China was since left behind in the trend of development and subdued to a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society.

"As a result of incessant foreign invasions thereafter, China experienced great social turmoil and its people had to lead a life of extreme destitution," Xi told the audience.

He said poverty prompted the call for change and people experiencing turmoil aspired for stability. "After a hundred years of persistent and unyielding struggle, the Chinese people, sacrificing the loss of tens of millions of lives, ultimately took their destiny back into their own hands," he said.

"Nevertheless, the memory of foreign invasion and bullying has never been erased from the minds of the Chinese people, and that explains why we cherish so dear the life we lead today," said the president.

"China is committed to non-interference in other countries' internal affairs, and China will not allow others to interfere in its own affairs," he said. "This is the position we have upheld in the past. It is what we will continue to uphold in the future."

Belgium is the last leg of Xi's four-nation Europe trip, which has already taken him to the Netherlands, France and Germany. He also attended the third Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague.