Hu Jintao, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Chinese president, delivers a report at the 18th National Congress of the CPC, which opened at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China on Nov. 8, 2012. [Xinhua Photo]

To those looking at the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China for hints about direction change, the message from the report CPC General Secretary Hu Jintao delivered on behalf of the 17th CPC Central Committee was loud and clear: the Party will stride ahead, in full confidence, on the path of "socialism with Chinese characteristics".

That is what the CPC has learnt from history. That is what it has prescribed for the future.

Hu's report, in the first place, is a fitting summary of what the CPC has been through and learned during the current leadership's 10 years in office, the more than 30 years of reform and opening-up, and the Party's more than 60 years at the helm.

The report's emphasis on self-confidence - in the path the CPC has chosen, the theories it has propounded, and in the system it has created - is not out of nowhere. From the first-generation CPC leaders' search for nation-building strategies to the inauguration and enrichment of the idea of "socialism with Chinese characteristics" by the second- and third-generation leaderships, the CPC's sense of direction has reached a new level under the leadership of Hu and his colleagues.

The country and the CPC have come face to face with severe tests in the past decade: SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), the 2008 global financial crisis, the Wenchuan earthquake and the ongoing eurozone debt crisis. Each prompted worries about the state of our country and economy. But to everyone's amazement, this country and its economy have remained in good shape.

During the decade, the country's economy grew from the sixth largest in the world to the second largest. While most major economies have had to cut back on social welfare, China has maneuvered to put in place a nationwide social security network. A brand-new social relief system is taking shape.

For the most part of the decade, China has remained an object of envy for its impressive immunity to the economic woes that brought down some much richer countries.

The proud score-sheet Hu and his colleagues hand over at the end of their term serves as a seal of approval of fine helmsmanship, and there can be no better support for the confidence they have displayed.

The prominence the current leaders have given to Scientific Outlook on Development - which they advocate should be implemented during the "entire process" of the country's modernization drive and "all aspects" of Party building - appears more than appropriate.

As the report points out, development remains the key to "the resolution of all problems" facing China. Which explains why, as always, economic reform, transformation of the development model, expansion of domestic demand and the real economy occupy a high place on the CPC's policy agenda.

But, consistent with the people-first principle the current leadership put forward, the report lays considerable in-between-the-lines emphasis on fairness. The proposal of a system to guarantee fairness that incorporates equality in rights, opportunities and rules is a positive response to growing public discontent with inequity.

The idea to widen the channels for citizens to express dissatisfaction is a laudable approach to stability concerns. The promises to "place guaranteeing and improving people's livelihoods in more prominent positions" and to "do everything possible to increase people's incomes" are surely conducive to cultivating a sense of well-being.

A more conspicuous embodiment of the Scientific Outlook on Development in the report, however, lies in the emphasis on "ecological civilization", or the approach to development that respects, conforms to and preserves nature.

The real highlights for people overseas, however, may be the report's elaboration of military and diplomatic policies. The report does propose a strategic task to build a strong military commensurate with China's security needs and growing national interests. But they are nothing to worry about because, as Hu reiterated, the PLA will remain defensive in nature and the country will stick to its peaceful path of development.

The report's proposal for countries to treat each other equally and with mutual confidence, to be tolerant to and learn from each other, and to cooperate and strive for win-win outcomes is a Chinese prescription for a world victimized by hegemony, power politics and interventionism.

At home, the report presents a more refined formula of peace to the other side of the Taiwan Straits. The proposal to explore reasonable arrangements for cross-Straits political relations, negotiate mutual military trust mechanisms and reach a peace agreement could create tremendous benefits for both sides. The proposal represents a substantial ideological breakthrough.

The consistent thread of reason running through the report is an inspiring sign of the CPC's maturity in governance. Its cool-headed judgments about itself and national and international conditions, and its commitment to better leadership give us confidence in the future of the country.

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