Xi Jinping and China's new era

Reform to the end

China aims to basically achieve socialist modernization by 2035 and build itself into a great, modern, socialist country by the middle of the century. Xi has said China today is closer than ever before to national rejuvenation, which is part of the Party's founding mission.

The Chinese economy surpassed 90 trillion yuan ($12.59 trillion) last year, cementing its place as the second-largest in the world. Between 2013 and 2018, it grew by 7 percent on average every year compared with just 2.9 percent for the global economy.

China has the world's most complete production chains. The output of more than 220 industrial products ranks No 1 in the world. China has laid down the longest network of high-speed rail tracks and sent a lunar rover to the dark side of the moon.

For the first time, a total of 129 Chinese companies made the Fortune Global 500 list this year, more than any other country.

The achievements can be attributed to people's hard work and deepened reforms. Unsurprisingly, reform and opening-up, introduced by Deng Xiaoping in 1978, is regarded as a "social revolution".

Xi is committed to seeing this through to the end. In 2012, for his first inspection as the Party's top leader, he headed to the reform test bed of Guangdong.

Reform and opening-up is a "critical measure" concerning contemporary China's fate and there shall be no "pause" or "back-peddling", he said.

Reform under Xi is distinctive in its own right: it places more focus on quashing vested interests, emphasizes top-level design and underscores a systematic, holistic and coordinated approach. A far-reaching seven-year reform plan was adopted in late 2013.

Xi has presided over scores of leading group or central committee meetings on deepening overall reform. At the most recent, in September, 11 documents on reform plans and guidelines were adopted on topics ranging from private business support to plastic waste treatment.

Celebrated for his ability to connect with the people through language－Xi's often quoted maxims such as "do concrete work and take the lead", "a state thrives on practical work but wanes on empty talk" and "grab the iron bar hard enough to leave a mark" shed some light on how China has achieved so much in such a short period.

Xi drafted market-oriented reforms for State-owned enterprises and has supported the development of the private sector. In 2018, at an unprecedented private enterprise symposium, Xi said private companies and entrepreneurs are "our own people".

Innovation, too, has received support, with Xi once saying that vital, core technologies are something that China cannot obtain through "begging".

Party and State institutions are now more efficient and modernized. Red tape has been cut and governments at various levels have expanded online approval and one-stop services.

The country further opened up, from the expansion of the pilot free trade zones to fewer restrictions on foreign investment in the automotive and banking sectors.

Last year, at the first import expo in Shanghai, Xi mentioned opening-up 52 times in his 35-minute speech.

Thanks to reform and opening-up, China's investment environment has continued to improve.

According to the World Bank Doing Business 2019 report, China advanced to a global ranking of 46th, up from 78th in just a year. Moreover, China's consumer market is edging closer to becoming the largest in the world.

Despite trade and economic frictions started by the United States, China saw more than 24,000 new foreign-invested enterprises established in the first seven months of this year. Foreign direct investment inflows in actual use grew by 7.3 percent to reach 530 billion yuan.