Asia's reform trinity, shift gear now

Asia is poised to enter a historical sweet spot, with three of its most populous countries - China, India and Indonesia - led by strong, dynamic and reform-minded leaders. In fact, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indonesia's President-elect Joko "Jokowi" Widodo could end up ranked among their countries' greatest modern leaders.

In China, Mao Zedong founded the People's Republic in 1949, while Deng Xiaoping engineered its unprecedented economic rise. For Xi to join their ranks, he must create a modern, rules-based State, which requires, first and foremost, slaying the massive dragon of corruption.

Over the years, corruption has taken deep root in China, with provincial Party leaders and top executives in State-owned enterprises wielding their vast privileges and authority to accumulate personal wealth. This has done severe harm to the Communist Party of China, while hampering the kind of market-based competition that China's economy needs to propel the country toward high-income status.