How Xi Jinping revitalised party and state with his morally uncompromising leadership

Xi Jinping was elected general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party at the 18th party congress in November 2012. In the five years between the 18th and 19th party congresses, Xi has accomplished a great deal.

First and foremost, with his very successful anti-corruption campaign, he averted the biggest threat to the continued survival of the party and the nation. The precariousness of the situation can be seen in the hundreds of thousands of high-level party and government officials and the approximately 30 per cent of the officers of general rank in the armed forces who were purged because of rampant corruption, including the buying and selling of offices and ranks.

Second, under Xi’s leadership, the Chinese economy successfully avoided a hard landing and was able to transition smoothly into a “new normal”, with a steady rate of growth of approximately 6.5 per cent per annum, a still very respectable rate compared to developed economies. The reliance on exports and fixed asset investment as drivers of economic growth has diminished and the excess production capacities have been slowly but surely reduced through the supply-side structural reforms. During the same period, an additional 60 million-plus people were lifted up from poverty.

Third, China was able to raise its international profile and participate in global governance without appearing either too aggressive or too accommodating. It managed to play a leading role at the 2015 UN climate change conference in Paris and was instrumental in bringing about the Paris agreement, which won the unanimous consent of the 196 contracting nations and other parties. Even with the threatened withdrawal by the US from the agreement, China has remained steadfast in its commitment to fulfil and even overfulfil its promised targets and has become a global leader against climate change. Xi has also initiated the ambitious “Belt and Road” projects.