XI JINPING AND CHINA’S NEW ERA

President Xi Jinping took his place on Tiananmen Rostrum on October 1 at a grand celebration marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Peoples Republic of China.

It was there on October 1， 1949， that Mao Zedong announced the birth of New China. Over the seven decades， the socialist country has blazed an extraordinary trail， rising from a“poor and blank” state to a major country on the world stage.

Xi， the first top Chinese leader born after 1949， is at the helm in a new era， steering the country through wind and waves to a brighter future.

Into new era

Xi was elected general secretary of the Communist Party of China （CPC） Central Committee on November 15， 2012.

The world at that time was transforming. The impact of the 2008 global financial crisis still lingered. Emerging economies were rising. China， after overtaking Japan as the second largest economy， had entered a critical period in its modernization.

Two weeks later， Xi proposed the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation.

Soon after assuming the Partys top post， Xi addressed senior cadres with a lecture spanning the history of world socialism over the past 500 years. He talked of how China had failed in its previous experiment with all other “-isms，” and directed cadres to unreservedly follow socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The Partys authority was further emphasized in October 2017， with the establishment of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.

Xi demanded full and strict governance over the 90-million-member CPC. To this end， he has introduced an eight-point decision on how to improve conduct， rolled out stricter Party rules and regulations， and over the seven years， launched four education campaigns to strengthen the Party.

“Every day， we brush our teeth， wash our faces， clean the house and do the laundry. For Party building， we must do the same，” he said.

An unprecedented anti-corruption campaign has left no stone unturned. In the fi rst fi ve years of Xis leadership， 440 centrally administrated officials—mostly ministerial-level or above—were punished.

“Xi and his colleagues preside over the worlds largest and most successful MarxistLeninist organization， and they are determined to ensure that it remains so，” Foreign Affairs magazine said in an article.

In late 2016， Xis core status in the CPC Central Committee and the whole Party was established. He was reelected general secretary of the CPC Central Committee in October 2017 and Chinese president in March 2018.

During a visit to Italy this year， asked about how he felt about being Chinese president， Xi told President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies Roberto Fico that governing such a huge country requires a strong sense of responsibility and hard work.

“I am willing to be selfl ess and devote myself to Chinas development，” Xi said. “I will not let the people down.”

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 Partys founding mission.

In 2018， the Chinese economy surpassed 90 trillion yuan （$12.72 trillion）， cementing its place as second in the world. Between 2013 and 2018， it grew by 7 percent on average every year compared to just 2.9 percent of the global economy.

China has the worlds most complete production chains. The output of more than 220 industrial products ranks No.1 in the world. China has laid down the longest mileage 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 in 2019， more than any other country.

The achievements can be attributed to peoples 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 fi rst inspection as the Partys top leader， he headed to the reform testbed of Guangdong.

Reform and opening up is a “critical measure” concerning contemporary Chinas fate and there shall be no “pause” or “back-pedalling，” 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—Xis 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 can achieve 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 auto and banking sectors.

Last year， at the worlds fi rst import expo in Shanghai， Xi mentioned the word “opening up”52 times in his 35-minute speech.

Thanks to reform and opening up， Chinas 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， Chinas 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 fi rst seven months of 2019. Foreign direct investment infl ows in actual use grew by 7.3 percent to reach 530 billion yuan（$74.93 billion）.

Serve the people

Xi considers employment “pivotal” to peoples well-being. He supports e-commerce and the new economy， which create jobs that never existed before.

Every day in China， about 16，500 new enterprises are established， and 40，000 people fi nd new jobs in towns and cities.

In total， China has created more than 80 million new urban jobs over the past seven years， equal to the entire German population.

China now has the worlds largest courier delivery service market， employing more than 3 million people， who send everything from meals to fridges around the country. Earlier this year， Xi paid a surprise visit to a tiny delivery station in Beijing and chatted with a group of deliverymen.

This closeness to the people is not a singular event. For the past seven years， Xi has spent time with regular people prior to every Chinese New Year： giving them festival gifts， observing festive traditions such as food preparation， and asking about their lives and welfare.

“CPC members must wholeheartedly serve the people，” Xi often reminds Party cadres.

This connection with the people can be traced back to a time when Xi lived and worked in a remote village in Shaanxi Province as an adolescent and young adult for seven years.

He has said that he understands the hardships of the people because he once lived in an impoverished corner of the country. He has been known to check the toilets and washrooms of ordinary homes， offer advice on garbage sorting， and show concern for students poor eyesight.

In 2013， Xi put forward “targeted poverty alleviation” and set a goal to eliminate extreme rural poverty by 2020， a deadline that is 10 years earlier than the goal set by the United Nations.

Over the past seven years， more than 82 million Chinese people left poverty behind. Xi said extreme poverty “would be historically solved in the hands of our generation.”

Kishore Mahbubani， a professor at the National University of Singapore， said the most outstanding achievement of China in the last 70 years had been the dramatic improvement in the living conditions of the people.

Reviewing Chinas long history， Mahbubani said even at previous peaks of glory， the bottom 50 percent of the population had to struggle to make ends meet. But today even low-income people have access to nutritious food， education， healthcare， housing， employment and even the ability to travel.

“There is no doubt that， in terms of the living conditions of the people， the past 70 years have been the best years in Chinas history，” he said.

A shared future

China is increasingly connected to the world. In 2014， Chinese made over 100 million overseas trips. The countrys outbound direct investment topped $120 billion， achieving a near equilibrium with foreign direct investment for the fi rst time. More Chinese live， study and work abroad.

The expression “China is moving closer to center stage” now appears often in news reports. The topic of how to handle Chinas interactions with the rest of the world has become a major subject for the Chinese leadership.

“The CPC always regards making a greater contribution to humanity a mission，” Xi said.

Fight for a great dream

Despite the achievements， the journey to national rejuvenation wont be plain sailing.

In earlier September， Xi told up-and-coming Party cadres at the opening of a Party school training session that a “great struggle” is needed to make the “great dream” a reality. The word douzheng （struggle） appeared nearly 60 times in his speech.

Xi said the risks and challenges facing the Party would only grow bigger and sometimes“there would be tempestuous waves beyond our imagination.”

But Xi is a man who rises to challenges.

Facing the challenges of an economic downturn， Xi has proposed measures such as supply-side structural reform to shift the economy toward high-quality development.

Tough battles were also launched to forestall and defuse major risks， carry out targeted poverty alleviation， and prevent and control pollution.

Economic and trade frictions with the United States is another struggle. China has taken the position that “it doesnt want a trade war but is not afraid and will fight one when necessary.” Over the past year， Xi met U.S. President Donald Trump twice， first in Buenos Aires， Argentina， last December and then in Osaka， Japan， this June， taking important steps toward solving the issue.

On Hong Kong， Xi said making everything political or deliberately creating differences and provoking confrontation would not help. Instead， it would severely hinder Hong Kongs economic and social development.

Xi told Ho Iat Seng， incoming Chief Executive of Macao Special Administrative Region， in Beijing this September that “one country， two systems” has proved to be a workable solution welcomed by the people.

On Taiwan， Xi said， “We do not renounce the use of force and reserve the option of taking all necessary measures. This is to guard against external interference and a tiny number of separatists and their separatist activities for‘Taiwan independence. It does in no way target our compatriots in Taiwan.”

Xi pushed a sweeping reform of the armed forces， setting “ability to fi ght” as the sole and fundamental criterion.

Chinese service personnel have taken up“protecting Chinas overseas interests” as an important mission. When turmoil rocked Yemen and Libya， Xi instructed operations to bring back Chinese nationals. A film based on this story smashed Chinas box offi ce records.

Xi has warned that all sorts of struggles would last a long time. He and his team are aware of both the rapidly changing and increasingly complex environment abroad and the situations at home. China， he said， is still the worlds largest developing country.

In May， Xi chose east Chinas Jiangxi Province， where the CPC-led Central Red Army began the Long March in the 1930s， to call for a new Long March.

Back then， the Red Army soldiers trekked about 12，500 km across China， battling the harsh environment， the enemy， and diversion within the Party. When they re-emerged victoriously in northwest China， they continued the fi ght and won the revolution.

To Chinese communists， sacrifi ce and hardships are worthwhile for a glorious goal.