BEIJING, Oct 18 (Reuters) - China will safeguard its sovereignty and security and oppose any behaviours that try to separate the country, President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday in a speech at the opening of a key Communist Party congress.

Beijing considers self-ruled Taiwan a wayward province to be brought under its control by force if necessary, and says that separatists are seeking to split the western regions of Tibet and Xinjiang from the rest of the country. (Reporting by Christian Shepherd; Writing by Michael Martina)