Beijing ( CNN ) -- When Hu Jintao steps down as leader of China 's Communist Party this month , not everyone will view his record over the last 10 years favorably . All told , it 's a record of rapid social and economic changes punctuated by political turmoil , disaster and crackdowns . Working in tandem with Premier Wen Jiabao , the 69-year-old Hu is credited for solidifying China 's position as a rising global power . But Hu also has his share of critics . `` Although the reform and opening has given the party huge fortune , the distribution of wealth has been extremely uneven , '' said Zhang Ming , from the Department of Political Science at Renmin University in China . Many ordinary Chinese agree . `` China as a nation has become richer and stronger , '' said Li Yong , a white-collar worker in Beijing . `` But many people are not feeling rich and strong . It seems prosperity has not trickled down much . '' `` Guofu , minqiong '' -- the nation has become richer , the people poorer -- this is one popular assessment of Hu 's time in office . That rings ironic , observers say , given Hu 's image as a populist politician . An engineer with extensive experience in China 's poor , underdeveloped interior provinces , Hu worked his way up the ranks of the party through the Communist Youth League ( CYL ) , a training ground of party cadres that now boasts about 70 million members . From the CYL , Hu was appointed as party chief in China 's impoverished western provinces of Guizhou and Tibet . In 1992 , he was singled out by paramount leader Deng Xiaoping for promotion as the `` core '' of the younger generation , strategically given a place in the elite Politburo . Five years later , he became the youngest member of the Politburo 's Standing Committee -- the country 's elite decision-making body -- lining him up as the presumptive leader of the `` fourth generation . '' He took charge at the 16th Party Congress in 2002 when he succeeded President Jiang Zemin as Communist Party chief , before taking over as state president the following year . Hu has tried to carve out his legacy by championing the country 's `` scientific development , '' a catchphrase for his policies , which sought more balanced , equitable and sustainable development , rather than breakneck economic growth as pursued by his predecessor , Jiang . Hu 's program called for increased social spending to help poor or unemployed farmers and urban workers to ensure social stability , or `` weiwen . '' In the last party congress five years ago , Hu managed to amend the party 's constitution to include his scientific development mantra . It was widely viewed as a sign that he had consolidated his power five years after succeeding Jiang . Under Hu 's watch , China has become the world 's second largest economy . The World Bank estimates its GDP to be $ 7.318 billion , as factors such as low labor costs and an undervalued currency combined to boost economic growth between 2003 and 2007 . He is also credited with improving the country 's military and boosting national pride . In 2008 , China hosted the Olympic games , putting the spotlight on China 's emergence as a world power . In June this year , China completed its first manned space docking -- a significant milestone in its bid to construct a space station -- and sent its first female astronaut into orbit , only the third country ever to do so . In October , China sent its first aircraft carrier to sea , emblematic of China 's growing ability to project its military power beyond its borders . But Hu has always advocated China 's `` peaceful rise , '' which observers take to mean building a prosperous and `` harmonious society . '' Critics say he has failed to achieve this goal . `` In these 10 years , China is nothing close to harmonious , '' said Zhang . `` Conflicts and contradictions have become worse . In fact it is reaching a crisis point . '' When faced with ethnic unrest in Tibet in 2008 and the restive Xinjiang province in western China in 2009 , Hu showed his steely side by cracking down harshly , using the police and the military , and censoring related content on the Internet . Hu 's regime likewise showed little tolerance towards political opposition , rounding up the most vocal dissidents and social activists , putting them in prison , under house arrest or making them disappear for weeks . The most prominent victims of political repression include Nobel peace laureate Liu Xiaobo and his wife Liu Xia , Sakharov Prize awardee Hu Jia , artist Ai Wei Wei , and blind activist Chen Guangcheng . Under Hu , China has kept a tight control of the media , especially the country 's huge social media community . In March , for example , Internet regulators required the 300 million microbloggers on Weibo , China 's Twitter-like service , to register their real names on posts to make then more accountable . `` Post-2007 , Hu strengthened the coercive arm of the state , '' said David Zweig , political professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology . But Hu has failed to narrow the country 's widening wealth gap . Speaking at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Brazil in June , China 's Premier said his country still has more than 100 million people living below the poverty line -- despite the size of its economy . A study earlier this year by Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in China found that China 's top 10 % of households surveyed have 57 % of the total income and 85 % of total assets . Recent years have seen a growing rural-urban disparity with millions moving to cities to improve their income prospects . Meanwhile , those who believed Hu would open up China 's political system would be likewise disappointed . He has called Western-style democracy a `` blind alley '' and has resisted pressure to pursue even the most modest reform of the political system . With little transparency , accountability and pluralism , the Communist Party under Hu has made little progress in curbing endemic corruption in the party and the government . `` Hu is seen to have been weak leader , missing opportunities , and putting excessive concern for order , his so-called 'hexie shehui ' ( harmonious society ) , '' said Zweig . `` Criticisms ( of Hu 's rule ) have even come from the Central Party School , where Xi Jinping is president . '' Xi , the state 's current vice president , is expected to take over from Hu as General Secretary of the party at end of the 18th Party Congress . Yet the months leading up to the congress have brought fractious back-room bargaining among the party elite , which is divided between informal `` elitist '' and `` populist '' factions . Xi 's ability to enforce unity at the top will determine how the new leadership will manage China 's emergence as a global superpower and how it copes with its domestic problems . `` Demand from below for change is great , '' said Zweig . `` But Xi Jinping may have to wait until he consolidates his power before he could push his own reform package . '' That , he added , may take the 59 year old several months , or even one or two years .
Hu Jintao will be stepping down as China 's leader at the 18th Party Congress . Comment: Hu presided over China as it became the world 's second biggest economy . However critics point to growing rich-poor divide , corruption , authoritarian rule .