Further economic reforms a tough task, warns Xi Jinping

Pushing through further economic reforms will prove tough and there may be dangerous times ahead, President Xi Jinping said in an interview with Russian state TV on the sidelines of the Sochi Winter Olympics.

"The easier reforms that could make everyone happy have already been completed. The tasty meat has been eaten up. The rest are tough bones to crack," Xinhua quoted Xi as saying. "[We] should dare to gnaw even tough bones and dare to ford dangerous rapids."

The Communist Party announced a series of reforms last November at a plenum of party leaders in Beijing, including giving more profits from state enterprises to the government and scrapping the re-education through labour prison system.

Critics have noted that there was no genuine political reform on Xi's agenda as the party seeks to retain its firm grip on power. However, Xi has consolidated his position by heading both newly established agencies announced at the plenum - a national security commission and a leading group to deepen reform.

During the interview, Xi also described the preparations for the Sochi Games as "first rate".

"Sochi is the right place for the Winter Olympics, the people are very welcoming and the city is energetic and charming. The city will be more famous after these Winter Olympics, attracting more tourists, including from China."