Opinion | Xi gets off to good start in first 100 days but drastic reforms are unlikely
New leader lights his fires in first 100 days, but will the overriding desire for stability throw water on the flames?
According to a popular Chinese saying, "new leaders should burn three fires" to establish their authority and demonstrate they are getting off to a new start.
It is a much more colourful idiom than its Western equivalent that "a new broom sweeps clean".
China's new leader Xi Jinping has certainly lit up enough "fires" to generate exciting chatter at home and abroad about himself, his new administration and the future direction of the mainland economy since he officially took over the reins of the Communist Party on November 15.
Last Friday marked the 100th day of his new leadership, and judging from reactions at home and abroad, Xi has got off to a good start.
Through his public speeches and meetings, Xi has tried to mould himself as a reformist to carry the baton of the late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping as someone who is willing to crack down on corruption and official excess, while also coming across as a down-to-earth person who can relate easily with ordinary mainlanders.
Xi lit his first fire on the day he became party chief by promising to fight corruption. In subsequent speeches and meetings, he adopted an unusually tough tone on the urgency of fighting graft, saying that the mainland leadership would deal with the corrupt "tigers and flies" at the same time.