Pick up courage to implement reforms: Xi tells officials

China's new leader Xi Jinping has asked the ruling Communist Party officials to pick up courage to implement the reforms like "wading through a dangerous shoal", without getting bogged down with fears about the outcome.

"We must have the courage, like gnawing at a hard bone and wading through a dangerous shoal," Xi, who took over at the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, told a delegation of legislators from Shanghai.

Xi, who like China's late reformist leader Deng Xiaoping, make extensive use of idioms and proverbs in his speeches compared the difficulty in deepening reform and opening-up to that of "storming a fortification".

He was reacting to yesterday's speech by outgoing Premier Wen Jiabao to China's Parliament, emphasisng the need for reforms.

"Reform and opening are the fundamental force that drives China's development and progress. We can continue to advance our case only by adhering to the form and opening up. China has entered a crucial stage of reform and we must further emancipate our minds: carry out all-round economic, political, cultural and social reforms and constantly deepen them," Wen said.

However, Wen who in the past spoke for political reforms to match the economic opening up made few such references in his speech.

While political reforms in the one party state remained a slogan, CPC emphasis is more on economic reforms which paid rich dividends.

Ahead of the meeting of the Parliament, official spokesperson Fu Ying shot down any expectation of political opening saying that China's political model was proven success and there is no need to change it.

"China will not copy other countries' models in its drive for political reforms," she told the media two days ago.

"Whether we copy other models, the answer is no," she said. China has already found a road appropriate for the country and is making headway.

Therefore, "we have no reason not to go along this road," she said.