China’s Reforms–Now Comes the Hard Part

Since taking the reins of the Communist Party last month, Mr. Xi has chosen his words—and his symbols—carefully. His first tour outside of Beijing since taking the top job was to Guangdong—which spearheaded China’s economic reforms and was the destination of former paramount leader Deng Xiaoping when he chose to kickstart reforms in 1992. Mr. Xi urged his comrades to show courage and continue to push ahead with reforms, even though they are now heading for the “deep water” section. As far as reforms go, now comes the hard part, he was saying.