The 25 key phrases of Xi Jinping

Xi Jinping was chosen to be the president and general secretary of the Communist Party Central Committee, the position of highest political power in China, in November 2012. This is a state-media-published collection of the phrases he has popularized in the last four years, and they speak to his vision of the country. We have added extra translation and context notes in brackets when helpful, but otherwise this is a direct translation from the original People’s Daily posting, which you can find here.

Chinese Dream 中国梦
To realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is the greatest dream of the Chinese people in modern times. We call it the “Chinese Dream.” The basic connotation of the Chinese Dream is to realize the prosperity of the country, the rejuvenation of the nation and the happiness of the people.

“Four comprehensives” strategy “四个全面”战略布局
The “four comprehensives” are “to promote the comprehensive completion of a moderately prosperous society, comprehensively deepen reform, comprehensively promote the rule of law, comprehensively and strictly manage the Party.”

“Five in one” overall arrangement “五位一体”总体布局
Namely, five in one: economic construction, political construction, cultural construction, social construction, and ecological civilization construction.

Two “hundred-years” 两个一百年
To build a moderately prosperous society in the 100 years since the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, and to build a rich and strong, democratic, civilized, harmonious, modern socialist country in the next 100 years.

Five development concepts 五大发展理念
The five development concepts that the fifth session of the 18th Central Committee put forward: “innovative, coordinated, green, open, shared.”

Anti-“four winds” 反”四风”
Anti-“four winds” is against formalism, bureaucracy, hedonism and extravagance.

Eight provisions 八项规定
Streamlining of documentary briefings, regularization of outreach activities, improvement of security work, improvement of press coverage, strict presentation of manuscripts, diligence and thrift.

Swat flies and beat tigers 拍蝇打虎
“Swat flies and beat tigers,” or, “Beat both the tigers and the flies”: Both mean to resolutely investigate and deal with leading cadres in violation of law and discipline cases, and effectively solve the unhealthy tendencies and corruption in the masses. [“Flies” refers to lower-level bureaucrats, whereas “tigers” refers to powerful leaders in the Communist Party.]

New economic normal 经济新常态
The new normal refers to three characteristics of changing economic development. The economic development has entered a stage of high efficiency, low cost, excellent structure, medium speed and sustainability. The economic growth rate has changed from high-speed growth to medium-high-speed growth, and the economic structure has transformed from incremental expansion to reserve adjustment, where superior increments coexist with deep adjustment. The economic development momentum has transformed from element-driven and investment-driven to innovation-driven.

Supply-side reform 供给侧改革
From the perspective of improving the quality of supply, we will use the reform approach to promote structural adjustment, correct distortions in factor allocation, expand effective supply, improve the adaptability and flexibility of supply structure to demand changes, improve total factor productivity, better meet the needs of the masses, and promote sustained and healthy economic and social development.

One Belt, One Road [also translated as the “Belt and Road”] 一带一路
One Belt, One Road refers to the Silk Road Economic Zone and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road.

New type of international relations 新型国际关系
The new type of international relations, centered on cooperation and win-win, is the “China Plan” that seeks to handle the relations among nations and maintain the stable development of the international community. It advocates cooperation instead of confrontation, and win-win instead of monopoly, zero-sum games and winners.

Fate community 命运共同体
“Fate community” is China’s recent emphasis on a new concept of human society, referring to the pursuit of national interests while taking into account the reasonable concerns of other countries, and promoting every country’s common development through the pursuit of national development.

Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei integration 京津冀一体化
As a major national strategy, the core content and task of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei integration is to integrate the transportation, markets, systems, public services and industries of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area to achieve regional coordinated development.

Internet+ [also translated as “Internet Plus”] 互联网+
Commonly explained, “Internet+” is the “Internet + all traditional industries,” but rather than a simple sum of the two, it is the use of information and communication technology and internet platforms, and integrating the internet and traditional industries to create a new development atmosphere.

Obtaining 获得感
“Obtaining” expresses the satisfaction of receiving a certain benefit, and refers to current efforts to reform and adapt the requirements of the development of the party and state to meet the people’s aspirations and expectations, so the people feel the effectiveness of reform and share in the happiness that reform brings.

Accurate poverty alleviation 精准扶贫
Poverty alleviation to seek truth from facts, according to local conditions, that is, in figurative terms, to find the right medicine for the illness, find the right drip of that medicine to fix the illness, and target the medicine at the illness according to different human conditions, root poverty conditions, and poverty-type conditions.

The last kilometer 最后一公里
“Last kilometer” refers to the problem of how policy has always been “walking on the road,” service has always “stopped at the mouth,” and benefits have “ended in blockage” and never really “fallen on the body.” To make the people really benefit, we must effectively solve the “last kilometer” problem.

Simplification and centralization 简政放权
“Simplification” [first half of the phrase 简政] refers to resolving issues of overlap in organizational function, governance coming from too many places, having too many people on the same problem, and the mutual handicap phenomenon. It also means to address the inadequate providing of social goods and services and the low level of administrative efficiency.
“Centralization” [second half of the phrase 放权] is to address the excessive approval of economic activities, the complexity of approval procedures and the low, long-term efficiency of approvals. It also means to solve problems with the government controlling some things it should not, as well as not adequately addressing some other things.

Beautiful China 美丽中国
“Beautiful China” is the sum of the beauty of the environment, the beauty of the times, the beauty of life, the beauty of society and the beauty of the common people. The 18th National Congress of the CPC emphasized building a beautiful China for the first time and put the construction of ecological civilization in a prominent position.

Political rules 政治规矩
“Political rules” includes the following: First, the party constitution is the overarching rule with which the whole party must comply. Second, the party’s discipline, especially political discipline, is a rigid constraint. Third, national laws are rules that party members and cadres must abide by. Fourth, the party through long-term implementation will form fine traditions and work habits.

Three stricts and three truths 三严三实
Leading cadres should be strict in developing moral character, strict in the use of power and strict with themselves. Planning requires truth, executing tasks requires truth and acting with integrity requires truth.

Crucial minority 关键少数
The so-called “crucial minority” refers to elements that are small in the course of their development but play a large role, thus having the effect of leading the way. The leading cadres at all levels of the party who serve as the backbone governing and rejuvenating the country, there is no doubt that they are a “crucial minority.” Drawing the leading cadres of this “crucial minority” is a critical point in the firm discipline and rules of the party.

Reform promotion 改革促进派
“Reform promotion” means to be ideologically resolute and clear, and for the CPC Central Committee to maintain a high degree of unanimity, scrupulously abiding by the “three stricts and three truths,” consciously employing the “four comprehensives” strategy to spread unified thinking, correctly grasping the overall situation of reform, and for cadres to believe in reform, to seek reform and to improve reform.

Two studies and one endeavor 两学一做
Namely, to study the party constitution and regulations, to study the series of speeches, and to endeavor to become qualified party members. With the entire party membership carrying out the “two studies and one endeavor,” the objective lies in promoting a comprehensive and strict management of the party that extends to the grass roots and maintaining the development of the party’s advanced nature and purity.
(Note, translation of the above item was slightly amended with a correction from @LeiGong)