Xi may now be newly empowered to reform China

THE major speech delivered by Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the opening of the 19th Congress of the Communist Party of China, which makes it clear that China is preparing itself for a much bigger role on the world stage, also provides clues to some of the policies to be adopted domestically in this new era, which will be dominated by Mr Xi, the party general secretary and president.

It also suggests that he is being elevated to a new level, with his name being written into the party Constitution while he is in office - something that has not happened to any other leader since Mao Zedong, the founder of the People's Republic of China.

"China's international standing has risen as never before," he said as he went over the achievements of his first five years in office. "The Chinese nation, with an entirely new posture, stands tall and firm in the East."