President Xi's crucial historical missions

The Governance of China, a collection of speeches by Xi Jinping, offers insights into the thinking that shapes the country's policies.

About two years after President Xi Jinping took office, his style of governing the country has become clear enough to be summarized.

Constant strong pressure to combat corruption is doubtlessly the first and most important characteristic. There was a point when people were becoming desperate about the rampant corruption and luxurious spending of officials, but Xi has achieved initial success in curbing these ills.

Interaction with ordinary people and the promotion of social justice are also characteristic of his leadership. During his inspection tours, Xi always sends the signal that he stands with the people, and his main moves have been in response to the calls of the people to correct any wrong that has distorted justice.

Another essential feature of his leadership is independence. Neither copying from the West nor simply continuing on the existing path, Xi has grabbed the world's attention with the concept of the Chinese Dream, which has its own characteristics. The term is already being used as the theme for his political theory.

Xi has embraced a strong style of leadership because he knows the historical missions he faces during his time in office. The past decades of development have made China closer to being prosperous, but the uncorrected and accumulated mistakes have ruined some basic pillars of support that need to be resurrected.

The fact that the Communist Party of China's legitimacy to govern needs repairing due to damage inflicted by corruption has been hidden behind fast growth. Political legitimacy in China comes from the consent of the governed; an administration without popular support might rule by force, but its governance will be neither stable nor long-lasting. The Party needs to regain the people's trust and rally their support.

The political culture, which is almost corrupt from the root in some sectors, must be totally cleansed. The astonishing number of corrupt officials and the incredible amounts of money they have amassed show how serious corruption has been, even under the high anti-graft pressure.

It should also be noted that corruption has already harmed social order in the country, resulting in chaos and general moral decline. Only a clean government can reverse the trend.

China is proud of being a 5,000-year-old civilization, but the failure in governance has already ruined many of its traditional values. The top leadership, having realized the destructive effects, is attempting to construct China's modern values.

In his reform plan, Xi declared the market would play the decisive role in allocating resources and that rule of law will be upheld, thus determining the development mode of China. A market economy with rule of law - that's the direction for China's reform in the near and long term.