Chinese President defends new reforms

Chinese President Xi Jingping today defended the new sweeping economic reforms providing decisive role for markets and private capital, saying “only reform and opening-up” can develop China, socialism and Marxism.

Persistent reforms and opening-up have deeply changed the image of China, its people and the ruling Communist Party, enabling the country to become a significant member of the international community, Xi said.

“Only socialism can save China, and only reform and opening-up can develop China, socialism and Marxism,” Xi said defending the sweeping social and economic reforms approved by the 376-member central committee earlier this week.

Xi highlighted the importance of the path shown by father of reforms in China, Deng Xiaoping, who succeeded Mao Zedong and altered the party’s ideology by merging capitalist economy within the socialist political frame work.

Except for deepening reforms, there is no other way to dissolve risks and challenges from all the sides and show the advantage of socialism with Chinese characteristics, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Xi as saying.

“Reform and opening—up will decide the destiny of modern China. It is also the key to realising the dream of national rejuvenation,” said Xi, who is now being projected as ‘New Deng’ by observers here.

Earlier this week, a new “wave of reforms” were unveiled to give the market a “decisive role” in the allocation of resources while retaining the public sector’s dominance in China in a bid to arrest sliding growth of the world’s second largest economy.

Billed as the big ticket reforms, building on the first package announced in 1978 after the end of the Mao Zedong—era, the top leadership approved the reforms aimed at halting the slowdown of country’s economy, which slipped from double digit growth rates to around seven per cent in the last two years.

From now on, development in non-public sector will be encouraged which will in turn stimulate vitality and creativity in the economy, while maintaining the dominance of the public sector.

This was regarded as a victory for the hardliners in the party who were against the dilution of the state-owned enterprises which emerged as biggest leviathans owning hundreds of billions of properties at home and abroad.