‍‍As the year wraps up, Asia Today is presenting a seven-part special series. We will review the seven most influential Asian figures and examine how their highs and lows, as well as hits and misses, impacted their country, the region and the world. 

When Xi Jinping was elected as the top leader of the Communist Party of China (CPC) five years ago, China was stuck with a slowing economy, widening wealth gap and widespread corruption. To deal with this, he launched many campaigns, tackling anti-corruption, supply-side structural reforms and poverty alleviation. 

The Party’s efforts have paid off. China’s GDP expanded by an average annual rate of 7.2 percent (2013-2016), compared to a 4 percent growth in developing economies, and just 2.5 percent globally. The number of people living in poverty dropped to 43.35 million at the end of 2016, from nearly 100 million at the end of 2012.

Changes in the past five years have inspired Xi to carve out a new era, as he recognizes the needs of the country now greatly differ from the past. “What we now face is the contradiction between unbalanced and inadequate development, and the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life,” said Xi in his report during the 19th CPC National Congress which took place in October. 

“The evolution of the principal contradiction represents a historic shift that affects the whole landscape and creates many new demands for the work of the Party and the country.”

Xi was elected general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee for the second term at the first plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee in October. His thought is now enshrined in the Party Constitution, and his concept of building “a human community with a shared destiny” was incorporated into a United Nations resolution for the first time. 

China is the world’s second largest economy, but this is the first time it is telling the world that the Chinese experience and its governing model might be useful for other countries, particularly developing ones. Xi said China would continue to deepen reforms and open itself wider to the world in the next five years. 

China has taken further steps to achieve its dream of rejuvenation this year. The Belt and Road Forum, unveiled specific measures and gave a fresh impetus to the initiative. The BRICS summit in Xiamen proposed the idea of “BRICS Plus," inviting other emerging markets and countries to participate. 

China also announced the decision to establish the Xiongan New Area to further develop the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. But most importantly, the biggest event in China’s political calendar – the 19th CPC National Congress – set a clear direction for the next five years and beyond. 

To quote Xi’s report: We are closer than any other time in history and have more confidence and ability to achieve the goal of the great rejuvenation of our Chinese nation. 

Recently, the World Bank said China’s GDP growth is projected to reach 6.8 percent this year. Li Yong, Senior Fellow at China Association of International Trade believed capacity reduction and innovation are the two main reasons for China to maintain such strong economic growth. In terms of China’s foreign policy, he said China will be a responsible stakeholder to the world, with the help of Belt and Road Initiative and the BRICS Plus model. 

(Top image: Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), addresses a New Year gathering held by the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing, capital of China, Dec 29, 2017. /Xinhua Photo)