STRENGTHENING THE PARTY

The year 2021 is also the ninth year of Xi's signature anti-corruption campaign, the most extensive in Chinese history. It shows no signs of letting up.

More than 20 high-level officials and executives in the financial sector have been punished or investigated this year. And in the past 30 days or so, one former ministerial-level official in the central government's law-enforcement apparatus was investigated while another was punished.

When Xi was elected general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, China was already the world's second-largest economy. Yet, it faced challenges from within.

"Facts prove that if corruption is allowed to spread, it will eventually lead to the destruction of a party and the fall of a government," Xi said in a stern warning.

Over the past nine years, more than 400 officials at ministerial level or above have been punished or investigated, including a former member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and two former vice chairmen of the Central Military Commission. From 2014 to 2020, over 8,300 fugitives were repatriated from more than 120 countries and regions.

"In a critical time, Xi turned the tide," said a foreign media editorial.

Xi has ordered efforts to "lock power in the cage of systemic checks." He also spearheaded the establishment of the National Supervisory Commission. All public sector employees came under supervision following the supervisory reform.

As general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, Xi has led efforts to formulate and revise around 200 intra-party regulations. He also launched five Party-wide education campaigns to firm up the ideals and convictions of Party members and ensure they act effectively and in unison.

Xi also attaches great importance to intra-party democracy. Solicited comments from CPC members are now incorporated into all Party national congress reports, documents reviewed at plenary sessions, and major Party documents, decisions, and reform policies.

By June this year, the number of CPC members had grown to 95 million, 10 million more than the population of Germany. Experts in China affairs say the Party has become more disciplined, pure, and powerful.

Xi Jinping is enjoying greater support within the CPC now than ever, said Neil Thomas, a China observer.

In 2016, the sixth plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee established Xi's status as the core of the CPC Central Committee and the whole Party.

Without a strong leadership core, the CPC would find it hard to unify the entire Party's will or build solidarity and unity among people of all ethnic groups. It would not be able to achieve anything or carry out any of its "great struggles with many new historical features," said Wang Junwei, a research fellow at the Institute of Party History and Literature of the CPC Central Committee.

In October 2017, Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era was officially instituted at the 19th CPC National Congress. The thought was enshrined in the CPC Constitution and China's Constitution.

Like Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, Xi has advanced the adaption of Marxism to the Chinese context and kept it relevant, said Xin Ming, a professor at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance).

MAKING CHINA STRONG

After the Opium War of 1840, China was gradually reduced to a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. It was bullied by foreign powers and suffered from poverty and weakness.

"What a humiliation! China was trampled upon at that time," Xi said when recalling that part of history.

The CPC was founded in 1921 to change the situation.

According to Han Qingxiang, a professor at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, the pursuit of national rejuvenation is marked by four critical milestones -- the Party's founding in 1921; the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949; the advent of reform and opening up in 1978; and the new era after the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012.

Two weeks after Xi's election as general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, he put forward "the Chinese Dream" of national rejuvenation. This October, at an event commemorating the 110th anniversary of the Revolution of 1911, Xi mentioned "rejuvenation" 25 times in his 35-minute speech, making it one of the most emphasized messages.

Xi believes that rejuvenation requires both strategic design and hard work. He took the lead by being a man of action. In 2019 alone, he took part in more than 500 important events. His working itinerary covered weekends of about 30 weeks in that year. He revised each draft of major reform plans.

Although Xi has little time for himself, he manages to find time for swimming. This and physical labor during his youth ensure that he has enough stamina to deal with affairs of the Party, government, and the military. More importantly, he is driven by a sense of mission.

"Happiness is achieved through hard work," he said.

Xi often visits farms, fishing villages, farmers' houses, small eateries, supermarkets, factory workshops, laboratories, hospitals, schools, and even inspects pigsties and toilets to obtain first-hand information of people's livelihood.