When he ascended to the apex of the Communist party in late 2012 most people in China and abroad assumed Xi Jinping would provide more of what had come before — consensus leadership, competent economic management and very gradual political liberalisation. He has defied all expectations.

From almost his first day in office as president, Mr Xi has pursued a radical centralisation of power backed by an anti-corruption campaign that has ensnared political rivals and those who question the new order. He has overseen what human rights groups describe as the most repressive crackdown on free speech and dissent in decades and sought to root out the fragile shoots of civil society wherever they sprout.

Given his decisiveness in battling corruption and dissent, Mr Xi has been surprisingly hesitant when it comes to economic reform. In the face of slowing growth and an increasingly obsolete economic model, the government did a good job of diagnosing the problems in late 2013 when it unveiled 340 reforms to address them. Unfortunately, many of these initiatives have still not begun and a closer examination shows some were contradictory to begin with.