Reform, opening up key to China's revival

"No stop in reform, and no stop in opening up," vowed Xi Jinping, the new helmsman of China's ruling party during his trip to south China's Guangdong Province from Dec. 7 to 11.

This was the first inspection tour of Xi since his election to the post of general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee last month.

The choice of the destination was significant as Xi followed in the footsteps of late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping's 1992 southern tour to the boomtown of Shenzhen and the cities of Zhuhai, Foshan and Guangzhou, the provincial capital.

Xi's reiteration of reform and opening up on his tour sent a clear signal that the new CPC leadership will resolutely follow these tenets.

It comes as a rallying call to the entire Party and the country to gather strength to tackle challenges.

Reform and opening up was a great awakening in the CPC's history, and a key move determining the fate of contemporary China.

It is key to realizing the goals of completing the building of a moderately prosperous society when the Party celebrates its 100th birthday in 2021, and the building of a prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and modernized socialist country when the new China marks its 100th anniversary in 2049.

It is also key to achieving the great revival of the Chinese nation.

People cannot forget, more than three decades on, that the third plenum of the 11th CPC Central Committee made a historical decision in 1978 to shift the Party's priority to economic construction as well as reform and opening up. The decision changed the destiny of the nation.

China has grown to be the world's second-largest economy. It is marching on an irreversible road to revival.

The 18th CPC National Congress depicted a blueprint in which the Party completes the building of a moderately prosperous society, accelerates the socialist modernization drive and achieves new victories in building socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The congress issued "a new declaration" and "a new mobilization order" for deepening reform and opening up.

Facing a complicated and changing international situation and an arduous task of development, the path of reform should be firmly followed, and productive forces should be emancipated to release the vigor and creativity of the masses.

Confidence should be strengthened and consensus should be gathered in order to seize opportunities to deepen reform in major fields with more political courage and wisdom.

China's development has entered a critical period and a deep-water zone as tasks of transforming the economic growth model are extremely arduous.

The deep-level reform will produce a domino effect, so it should be pursued in a more systematic, whole and coordinated way.

The reform should also lead China's development in a green, low-carbon and recycled fashion so as to build a beautiful China

There are only eight years left before 2020, the point at which Chinese leaders had promised the country would have completed the building of a moderately prosperous society.

The great revival of the Chinese nation will be realized as long as Party members, officials and people of all ethnic backgrounds increase their sense of urgency, mission and responsibility along the socialist road with Chinese characteristics, and continue the cause of reform and opening up.