Full coverage: 2017 NPC & CPPCC Sessions

GATHER NEW MOMENTUM

Xi and his comrades must take steps to ensure China escapes the "middle-income trap," which few developing countries have managed to avoid, and continues to open up to fuel global growth.

In his New Year speech, Xi called on the nation to "roll up our sleeves and work harder."

Prior to the two sessions, Xi visited Hebei Province and said that poverty alleviation was fundamental to building a moderately prosperous society.

During the 2013-2016 period, 55 million people have shaken off poverty -- more than the population of South Korea. China plans to eliminate poverty by 2020.

During an inspection of Beijing, Xi stressed building a people-oriented city by addressing problems of overpopulation, traffic congestion, soaring house prices and air pollution.

He also highlighted coordinated development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, an ambitious project to link more than 100 million people to become an important engine for the country's economic growth. Huge progress has been made in transportation, industry and the environment in the past three years.

At a February workshop attended by officials at the provincial and ministerial levels, Xi urged them to "choose the heaviest burden and crack the hardest nuts" when pursuing economic and social development.

"Xi's speech at the workshop was grounded in Marxism and it will provide the ideological basis for the 19th CPC National Congress," said Zhu Lingjun with the Party School of the CPC Central Committee.

Xi is also striving to establish a global landscape featuring win-win results, common development and equality, highlighting the country's image as a responsible and active player in global governance.

He attended the World Economic Forum annual meeting in January, inspiring the world by advocating free trade and warning against protectionism.

Xi told the forum that China is not only the beneficiary of economic globalization, but also a contributor to it. To this end, he has repeatedly called for building "a community of shared future for mankind."

In early February, Xi and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump held a phone conversation on bilateral ties, a good first step in consolidating relations between the world's two largest economies.

"They are the [world's] two leading nations and it is crucial that there are open communications so there are no misunderstandings," said Darrell West, director of Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution.

China will host a Belt and Road forum for international cooperation in May to make globalization more inclusive and beneficial, followed by a summit of the emerging-market bloc of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) in September.