Ahead of Karl Marx's 200th birthday on Saturday, Xi Jinping called the German philosopher "the greatest thinker of modern times," calling his theories on communism a tool for China to "win the future."

According to the official Xinhua news agency, he said Marx's name was "still respected all over the world" and that "his theory shines with the brilliant light of truth." He also claimed that putting "Marxism onto the flag of the Chinese Communist party was totally correct."

He was speaking at the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing, marking the bicentennial of Marx's birth in 1818 in the southwestern city of Trier.