China's catch-up modernization, both politically and economically, has come to a critical juncture, so have its development model and general reform process.

Just ahead of the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China Central Committee next month, the Development Research Center of the State Council, a leading think tank of the Chinese government, has drawn up a detailed roadmap on reforms until 2020 and has pointed out to eight key areas that will likely witness most reforms.

The top leadership has long been expected to take bold reform decisions and there is supporting social consensus.

That the top leadership is aware of such consensus was reflected last week when Yu Zhengsheng, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the CPC, said that this round of reforms "will be broad, with major strength, and will be unprecedented."

The latest reform measures proposed by the top think tank have generated heated discussion on China's social media websites.

Expectations are high that the upcoming meeting will address the demand for more reforms and also cover the most contentious domestic issues.

How reforms are to be carried out and future difficulties lying ahead to be addressed are questions that have lingered in the minds of people for some time.

People criticize vested interest groups and complain about inefficiency of the government. They also debate on how China's political reforms should proceed.

Is China going to take a more liberal approach or a conservative one?

When some opinions of different groups overlap with one another but others differ greatly, it is not surprising for people to feel that a clear direction from the top leadership is urgently needed.

The think tank's reforms map has shed some light on China's future reforms, not only amid the Chinese public's doubts but also amid a section of the foreign media's perception that China has already lost its reforming prowess. Some label Chinese reforms as "myth," and others question whether the Party can regain public trust through reforms.

Therefore, the coming third plenary session offers a chance to eliminate the theory of "myth" if the package of reforms is included in the final document and the reforms themselves are well implemented. This needs to take on the powerful groups such as the public sector and State-owned enterprises.