BEIJING: Holding a report in his hand summarizing China’s reform progress in the past seven years, President Xi Jinping said that the document was rather “heavy.”
“Great historic achievements have been made in deepening overall reform,” Xi announced at the 17th meeting of the central committee for deepening overall reform at the end of last year.
Since the third plenary session of the 18th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, a key meeting in November 2013 that gave the clarion call for overall reform, China has rolled out 2,485 reform plans covering areas including politics, economy, culture, society, and rule of law.
“The targets and missions set at the session have been basically accomplished as scheduled,” Xi said.
Since Xi took the helm as general secretary of the CPC Central Committee in 2012, he has personally led the country’s relentless efforts on deepening reforms, breaking institutional barriers and cracking the “hard nuts” along the way.
He chose south China’s Guangdong Province, the pioneer of China’s reform and opening up, as the first stop for an inspection trip after taking office.
During the trip in December 2012, Xi made important statements that would later guide the country through the arduous journey of reforms.
“Reform and opening-up is a crucial move that will determine the destiny of contemporary China. It is also a crucial move that will determine the delivery of the two centenary goals and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” he said.
He also talked about the direction and principles of reform.
“Of course, we need to hold high the banner of reform, but our reform must be a reform that is moving along the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. We will neither take the old and rigid closed-door path nor take the erroneous path of abandoning our principles,” Xi said.
In 2013, the epoch-making third plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee adopted a decision on some major issues concerning deepening overall reform.
The decision, a programmatic document Xi drafted, is of historic significance.
It set forth for the first time the overarching goal of deepening overall reform — to improve and develop the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and advance the modernization of China’s governance system and capacity. – Agencies
