Inspiring China's reform with vivid metaphors

BEIJING -- President Xi Jinping has articulately used adages, idioms and metaphors to discuss a new round of reform to drive the development of the world's second-largest economy since 2012.

In a distinct fashion, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, vividly communicates the country's reform goals and methods to audiences both at home and abroad.

The following are some examples.

VENTURING INTO THE MOUNTAIN DESPITE KNOWING THERE ARE TIGERS

In April 2014, Xi delivered a speech at the College of Europe during his state visit to Belgium.

China needs to "venture into the mountain despite knowing there are tigers," as its reform has entered a "deep water zone" where tough challenges must be addressed, Xi said.

Ahead of a visit to Latin America about three months later, Xi once again invoked the expression to proclaim to the world China's unwavering determination and courage in furthering reform.

"We will advance reform with the political courage and wisdom of 'venturing into the mountain despite knowing there are tigers,' and with great dedication to working hard and achieving tangible results," he said.

PLAYING THE PIANO WITH ALL 10 FINGERS

In an interview with a Russian TV station in February 2014, Xi said that Chinese leaders must "play the piano with all 10 fingers," emphasizing the need to plan for the bigger picture while keeping all moving parts in play.

Since assuming the Party's top post in November 2012, Xi has made "coordination" a keyword in the CPC's endeavors to deepen reform so as to improve and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics and modernize China's system and capacity for governance.

Amid changes in the domestic and global landscapes, China's reform is confronting challenges on an unprecedented scale, involving a wide range of complex issues.

"It is crucial to enhance the coordination and mutual support among reform measures, ensuring that reforms across different fields and sectors align and synergize to maximize overall effectiveness," Xi said in his inspection tour of east China's Shandong Province in May this year.

CLEARING THE CAGE FOR NEW BIRDS

During his tenure as Party chief of Zhejiang Province, Xi put forward the expression "clearing the cage for new birds" to shed light on the transformation of a relatively extensive model of growth in the eastern province, which boasts a strong private sector.

Since he became general secretary of the CPC Central Committee in 2012, Xi has made use of this expression on multiple occasions. In March 2014, when taking part in deliberation in the annual national legislative session with lawmakers from Guangdong Province, China's economic powerhouse and a pioneer in reform and opening up, Xi used the expression to stress the importance of deepening reform in all areas and promoting structural adjustments.

Xi called for efforts to advance industrial upgrading, give full play to the role of innovation in propelling progress, and embrace green development.

Three years later, also during the annual national legislative session, Xi mentioned the phrase again in a discussion with lawmakers from Liaoning Province, one of China's earliest major industrial bases, emphasizing the necessity of replacing old industries with new ones amid the country's economic transformation drive.

TWO WINGS OF A BIRD, TWO WHEELS OF A CART

Xi referred to the roles of reform and the rule of law in propelling China's development as "two wings of a bird or two wheels of a cart" while addressing senior officials during a meeting in February 2015.

"Reform should be promoted under the rule of law and the rule of law should be enhanced in the process of reform. This is why we refer to them as 'two wheels,'" Xi stressed.

ENGINE IGNITER

"If innovation is the new engine for China's development, reform is the indispensable igniter," Xi said in his address at the APEC CEO Summit held in Beijing in November 2014.

"To comprehensively deepen reform, we need to broaden the path for innovation," Xi stressed in his address, pledging to enable the engine of innovation to run with full power.

China has reformed its talent evaluation system for years to boost creativity among sci-tech professionals. Provinces including Anhui, Shandong and Sichuan have introduced pilot programs to shift away from overemphasizing academic papers, professional titles, degrees and awards.

"In a new round of global growth, only reformers can advance, only innovators can thrive, and only those who reform and innovate will prevail," Xi said.

A FAIR SHARE OF A BIGGER PIE

Addressing the G20 Hangzhou Summit in 2016, Xi used the metaphor "a bigger pie" to describe China's development and stressed the necessity of "ensuring that people get a fair share of it."

This is an answer to the question "for whom the reform was conducted."

"We will resolve the most pressing problems affecting the immediate interests of the people to their satisfaction," he said.

Achieving common prosperity is a basic requirement of socialism and an important feature of the Chinese path to modernization. Making "the pie" bigger while dividing it well has enriched both the theory and practice of common prosperity.