The fine momentum has to be sustained, and reform and opening-up, which have been the core drivers of the country's recent rise to prominence, have to be deepened and broadened. That is the only way toward the "qualified answer sheet" the new CPC leader pledged to deliver while meeting the press on Thursday.

Having toiled at some of the poorest places in the most difficult times he and the country have experienced, having worked as a local administrator in different parts of the country, and having served in the CPC's central leadership, Xi knows what the country and its people need.

As he said at the post-election news conference, people want better education, more secure jobs, more satisfactory incomes, more reliable social security, more sophisticated medical services, more comfortable living conditions and a better living environment, and these are what he and his colleagues will strive for.

And he is aware of the challenges the CPC faces. Among the "many severe challenges" and the imperative problems awaiting solution, he enumerated corruption, estrangement from the people, formalism, and bureaucratism, and called for Party-wide vigilance.

Corruption in the CPC's ranks has done so much damage to the Party's image and has been identified as a threat to the Party's governing status by Hu and other leaders. Serious house cleaning is urgently needed to strengthen public confidence.

The conspicuous weight Xi assigned to the topic in his brief speech has inspired anticipation of headway being made in the difficult fight against corruption. Something we hope will be a part of the answer sheet the new CPC leadership hands in when they leave office.