Back in January, Premier Wen Jiabao reportedly confided in a group of senior advisers that the consensus of mainland leadership was that this year would be 'the most critical' for China.
As things are evolving, Mr Wen was not exaggerating in the least.
As President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen bowed to the applause of NPC deputies and officially began their second and final five-year terms this weekend, they found themselves facing the sternest tests of their leadership skills, political wisdom and economic acumen since coming to power a little more than five years ago.
Bloody riots in Tibet and ensuing intense international media coverage, just a few months before the Olympic Games, have presented an extremely awkward situation for mainland leaders who aim to use the occasion to mark China's debut as a global player.
Economically, mainland leaders are caught in an acute dilemma in which, on the one hand, they are trying to combat inflation and prevent the economy from overheating, and, on the other, they are nervously watching the unfolding global economic uncertainties induced by the United States' subprime crisis.
Coinciding with the Olympic event, there is another equally politically sensitive occasion in which mainland leaders are making elaborate preparations to mark the 30th anniversary of the mainland's opening up and economic reforms.