Sticking to reform

The message can't be clearer that the new leadership of the Communist Party of China will not only continue reform and opening-up, but also further it in a pragmatic manner. Xi Jinping's first official visit as the Party's new general secretary was a strong manifestation of this.

During his visit to Shenzhen in South China's Guangdong province at the weekend, Xi visited the statue of Deng Xiaoping and paid tribute to the architect of China's reform and opening-up. Deng's famous trip to southern cities including Shenzhen in early 1992, widely known as the Southern Inspection Tour, revived and expedited then stagnant reform and opening-up, which resulted in the rapid economic growth in the three decades that followed.

Shenzhen, which was the country's first special economic zone, and Guangdong province have long been considered the vanguard and synonym of reform and opening-up.