Hailing Xi as a “statesman, thinker and strategist”, Xinhua said he had “always shouldered the heavy responsibilities of reform” and “personally reviewed and revised all major plans”.
It also described him as “another outstanding reformer in the country after Deng Xiaoping” and noted that the two paramount leaders “each faced strikingly different historical circumstances”.
Deng had to build up a poverty-stricken China from scratch while Xi had taken over when the country was already the second-biggest economy in the world, but many of the advantages that had helped it develop rapidly – such as cheap labour – were already starting to diminish.
“Instead of resting on the laurels of his predecessors, Xi was committed to carrying on reform, even though he knew how hard it would be,” Xinhua said, adding that he had played a role in all China’s major reforms throughout his career.
Another Xinhua article said Xi had chaired 72 meetings since coming to power in 2013 and had been in direct charge of all reform programmes since then.
Xie Maosong, a senior researcher at the National Institute of Strategic Studies at Tsinghua University, said the official messaging clearly signalled that Xi would not be deflected from his chosen path and will institutionalise his brand of reform to ensure it becomes “a major political legacy”.
Deng Yuwen, a former deputy editor of Study Times, the Central Party School’s official newspaper, cautioned that the party must keep an eye on public sentiment as discontent about the weakening economy grew.
“Chinese people today tend to blame unequal opportunities and an unfair system rather than their own lack of ability for their poor economic status, according to a recent survey [by US-based Big Data China],” he said.
“The public wants more upwards mobility, fairer job opportunities and basic things such as food safety. The party must demonstrate that they can deliver these goals.”
This article was first published in SCMP.
