For Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the past five years have been a period of sweeping reforms and daunting challenges. He has made his mark through new thoughts and policies that have dramatically transformed China. 

When Xi came to office five years ago, he made a big promise. 

"We’ll continue to strive for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. This grave responsibility is for the well being of the people,” Xi said.

Xi soon used the “Chinese Dream” to inspire people and provide hope. He aimed to achieve a historic height with a strong leadership. 

Decades of fast growth has created huge problems: an irrational economic structure, a widening wealth gap, diminished social justice, and damage to the environment...

To deal with those challenges, Xi relied on deepening reforms. On December 8, 2012, his first trip outside Beijing as the top leader was to China’s first special economic zone, Shenzhen. 

"The reform and opening-up policy is a correct decision. We will be unswervingly walking on this path, with new approaches and higher levels,” Xi noted.

Xi’s priority is to maintain growth, as economic performance is a key measure for good governance. 

But China’s reforms have entered deep waters. Any change should come from the top, and this could mean challenging entrenched interest groups head-on. 

To deliver change and maintain stability is a difficult balancing act. 

One of Xi’s ground-breaking reforms is the redefinition of the government and the market. It was a major decision to depart from a planned economy.

The focus of reform is to allow the market forces to play a decisive role in the allocation of resources. 

"Reform can be regarded as the igniter. We need to take more effective measures to launch the innovation engine at full speed,” Xi said.

To boost stability, Xi put a priority on ending poverty. He asked Party officials to stay true to the mission and go to the grassroots to win the people’s trust. 

Xi said the Party’s survival relies on the people’s trust. And the biggest threat is within the Party itself. 

He has waged a ruthless war on corruption, punishing more than a million corrupt officials at all levels. He has broken some tacit rules and established new guidelines. 

"We must do what we must, and punish those who deserve it. If we didn't dare offend hundreds of thousands of corrupt officials, we would have offended 1.3 billion people,” Xi said.

China is now playing a bigger role on the global stage, from providing solutions and boosting globalization, to its exercise of soft power.

"Whether or not China’s road of socialism with Chinese characteristics is good depends on the facts and will be judged by the Chinese people, rather than those wearing blinkers with their subjective assumptions. The CPC members and the Chinese people have the full confidence to provide China's solutions for the exploration of better social systems for mankind,” Xi noted.

The “Chinese Dream” now has comprehensive theories and content. And Xi’s thoughts are the basis for China's overall development in the long term.

It is undeniable that China has made great progress in many areas under Xi’s leadership. The Party says reforms will continue, as China is on its way to a well-off society.