The details of China's new development blueprint, which was officially handed down Tuesday by the Communist Party's Central Committee, leave little doubt as to President Xi Jinping's role in crafting the document.
From promoting the "Chinese dream" to pledging to "purify" the Internet, the sweeping policy document enshrines slogans, catchphrases and priorities that the Chinese president has tested since taking power in November 2012. Their inclusion in the party's five-year plan — a Soviet-style holdover of the centrally planned economy — ensures that Xi's assertive, nationalist vision will shape China's development through the end of the decade, if not many years beyond.
The president faces the twin challenges of completing China's transition to a developed, high-income economy while extending the party's 66-year reign. The 2016-20 plan, which spans all corners of nation-building, represents Xi's best chance to enact his reforms and establish a legacy before party retirement rules compel him to clear the way for a successor in 2022.
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