Xi Jinping is poised to become the first three-term president in Chinese history when the Communist Party of China's 20th National Congress convenes on Oct 16. That makes this an opportune time to take stock of Mr Xi's economic policy record from the past 10 years and explore some obvious steps to improve economic performance in the next term.

When Mr Xi assumed China's top political position in 2012, the economy was thriving, but it also had many serious problems. Gross domestic product (GDP) had been growing at an average annual rate of 10 per cent for over a decade. But a slowdown was inevitable, and GDP growth rates have fallen almost every year since 2008. Moreover, inequality was rising, with the Gini index having increased by 13 per cent between 1990 and 2000. By the start of this century, inequality in China had surpassed that of the United States for the first time in the post-1978 reform era.