Lead by action

After the third plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, Xi served as the head of a leading group on deepening overall reform. When it was changed to a committee, he remained as the chair.

In the meantime, he also chairs a number of high-level committees and commissions on areas such as law-based governance, foreign affairs, cyber-security and informatization.

By heading these groups, Xi can have face-to-face discussions with people working in different areas and better learn about actual situations.

Xi went through each version of major reform documents, added his personal insights and pushed for major progress.

Take the market's role as an example. In 2013, the Party decided to let the market play a "decisive" role in allocating resources. It sent a strong signal of policy adjustment as the original wording -- "basic" -- had remained unchanged since 1992.

When drafting the change, some people said it was still too early to make such a big leap. It was Xi who decided to make the change.

"Many of the major reforms would not have been possible if it weren't Xi," said an academic who was involved in drafting the document.

Xi led reform on multiple fronts to achieve breakthroughs: the gaps between urban and rural populations have been narrowed, the two-child policy initiated and pushed to yield results, splurge on government bills curbed, and vested interests broken up.

He constantly called on officials to have the perseverance to hammer away at obstacles until a task is done and make concrete, meticulous and effective efforts in reform.

Between late 2012 and late 2017, Xi took 50 domestic inspection tours, in which he researched and pushed for reform.

The reform progress encompasses an expansive scope of fields.

In the economy, he made the judgment of new normal, initiated the supply-side structural reform and drew a clear line between the government and the market.

In science, he set the goal of turning China into one of the world's science centers and an innovation high ground.

He led the anti-corruption fight to form a crushing tide and has won a sweeping victory.

He launched a major institutional reform to reshape Party and state organs, including the establishment of the National Supervisory Commission and the Commission for Law-based Governance of the CPC Central Committee.

Reform progress is reported on other fronts: people have stronger cultural confidence and sense of fulfillment; environmental protection systems are improved; and the armed forces have been reshaped.

In the five years since late 2012, more than 1,500 reform measures were issued. Reform picked up pace after the 19th CPC National Congress in late 2017.

In his 2018 New Year speech, Xi called on the Chinese people to "cut paths through mountains and build bridges across rivers" to advance reform.

Wang, the book author, said Xi has made breakthroughs in a number of tough and stalemated issues.

"Xi has been and is a remarkably comprehensive reformer, whose reforms are broader in scope than those of prior generations," Kuhn said.