THERE may have been many people within the Chinese Communist Party and outside who did not agree with the party’s decision to confirm President Xi Jinping’s status as China’s most powerful ruler since Mao Zedong. After all, this was an honor denied to Deng Xiaoping who launched the reforms that made China the economic powerhouse that it is now.

They may have also felt uneasy about Xi being called lingxiu, great helmsman and great teacher — the honorifics used to glorify Mao. But at least in one respect, Xi has proved himself to be more like Mao than anyone in China thought. Like Mao, he has left no clear successor in line. This means there will be no orderly and peaceful transfer of power after his exit — the situation Deng Xiaoping faced after Mao’s death, persuading him to steer the country away from one-man rule and establish a collective model of leadership.

Xi’s elevation took place on Tuesday, the final day of a weeklong political summit in Beijing — the 19th party congress at which more than 2,300 delegates voted unanimously to include a reference to “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era” in the party constitution. This means centralization of power for party over China's economy and society and domination of the party (the world's biggest with 89 million members) by Xi. In short, one-man rule in an one-party state.

The future of 1.4 billion people, the world’s second-largest economy and an emerging military juggernaut now lies largely in the hands of just one man. The world is naturally anxious to know what he would make of this enormous power. Will he make good on promises of market-based reform, a landmark pledge he made after assuming office in 2012?

But Xi has warned against anticipating big reforms. He would place more emphasis on environmental protection. This is understandable given the pollution caused by the factories producing goods in China.

Xi would also like to move the economy away from manufacturing and exports to focus on consumption and services. Reducing public and private debt is another objective. While hundreds of millions of people have been lifted out of poverty, there's still a huge gap between the rich and the poor, leading to rising resentment against the elites in the Chinese Communist Party and their children. So Xi will try to reduce inequality to the extent possible.

Of particular interest to common people is his promise to stress the rule of law during his second term. Rules were applied somewhat arbitrarily during the Deng era, and such practices have continued until today. Xi announced his aim to break this tradition, by establishing a “central leading group for full rule of law.”

Finally, China, Xi said, will actively participate in international affairs. The Chinese leader talks about guiding the international community "toward a more just and rational new world order.” Other nations will listen to him not only because of the $4 trillion in foreign reserves, and control over the fastest growing consumer market in the world, but due to the instability and disorder of the Trump administration and the dysfunction in Europe have created a vacuum and no country is better qualified to fill it than China under a strong leader. No wonder, the latest Pew opinion survey across 37 countries suggests more people now trust the Chinese leader to do the right thing than the American one.

What underpins China’s foreign strategy is Deng Xiaoping’s maxim, “keep a low profile and bide your time.” The dispute over the South China Sea, and the One Belt, One Road plan, Xi's ambitious economic and trade initiative, have shown Beijing is no longer prepared to keep a low profile. How far China will go in asserting its enhanced power and status will become clear only after the summit between Xi and US President Donald Trump in Beijing next month.