The Third Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China's Central Committee in November will be historically significant as the Chinese leadership is expected to present its strategic vision for the country's socio-economic reform for the next decade.

In 1978, the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee launched the reform and opening-up policy. In 1993, the Third Plenary Session of the 14th CPC Central Committee adopted the socialist market economy with Chinese characteristics, driven by growth, as its development model. The two plenums put the country on an unprecedented economic reform path and helped transform it into the world's second-largest economy.

The November plenary session has the historical responsibility of delivering a blueprint of reform to realize the Chinese Dream of establishing a moderately prosperous society by 2020. In this pursuit, China's reform initiatives will be challenged by the global economic slowdown, which could exacerbate the country's domestic imbalances.