SUCCESSFUL CONCLUSION: Delegates to the 18th CPC National Congress walk out of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on November 14 after the congress drew to a close (XIE HUANCHI)

Paradigm shift

While placing emphasis on economic growth, the CPC will spearhead a change in China's development model. The outdated model under which China pursued GDP growth at the cost of resource depletion, environmental degradation and a widening income gap will give way to a new model defined by the Scientific Outlook on Development. The political theory, which was written into the CPC Constitution as one of the Party's guiding principles during the 18th CPC National Congress, advocates comprehensive, balanced and sustainable development and a people-first approach.

Hu Jintao gave greater prominence to environmental protection by incorporating ecological progress into the country's overall development plan together with economic, political, cultural and social progress. He coined the catchphrase, "Beautiful China," in his report to the 18th CPC National Congress.

Bridging the wealth divide will surely top the Chinese Government's agenda. Ogunmade, the Nigerian journalist who was in China to cover the CPC congress, said he was amazed by the transformation of Shenzhen in south China's Guangdong Province from a fishing village to a modern metropolis in less than three decades after a visit there. But he expected China to grow more evenly.

"It should not be only in Guangdong or Beijing; I think all provinces should be developed as well. We believe that the new leadership will take this move further, so that when we come here five years from now, other provinces [will] have grown like Guangdong," Ogunmade said.

As it rebalances its economy, China will deepen reforms politically to promote social harmony. Hu Jintao vowed in his report to support the exercise of state power by the people through people's congresses, improve the system of consultative democracy, expand community-level democracy and deepen the reform of the administrative system.

Under the leadership of the CPC, China has advanced political reforms in an incremental way over the past years, Xie said. For instance, the National People's Congress adopted an amendment to the Electoral Law in March 2010 granting equal representation in legislative bodies to rural and urban residents.

Apart from elections, China emphasizes democratic consultation: The ruling CPC regularly consults other political parties, and villagers now also have opportunities to freely air opinions on village affairs to forge consensus, Xie said.

Administrative reforms, designed to get rid of approval procedures that have become obsolete in the market economy, will help prevent abuse of power and corruption, Xie added.

Global vision

While vowing to pursue sustainable development and strengthen CPC self-discipline, Hu Jintao set China's diplomatic priorities in his report to the 18th CPC National Congress.

The report shed light on some emerging trends on the world stage, said Chen Dongxiao, Vice President of the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies.

For instance, it underlined the importance of cultural diversity in response to the misconception that the U.S. model would dominate the world, a view expounded by many Western scholars since the end of the Cold War. It recognized the emergence of an information society given the impact of new media on information dissemination and international relations.