BEIJING — For years, China’s president, Xi Jinping, has talked the talk of economic reform. In January, he dazzled business executives in Davos, Switzerland, with a defense of international trade. Last month, he urged officials to “seize hold of reform and make it an even bigger priority.” And the annual meeting of China’s legislature, starting Sunday, appears sure to echo that theme.

But as Mr. Xi nears the end of his first five-year term as Communist Party leader, his record has not lived up to the bold statements, critics say.

The question now is whether he was ever really serious about taking the painful steps needed to repair the economy, or merely paying lip service to reform to justify his tightening grip on power.

Mr. Xi’s defenders argue that he had to consolidate his authority first, before he could make the potentially wrenching decisions needed to open markets and trim bloated state-owned industries. With weak growth in the rest of the world and demand for China’s exports flagging, they contend, there was little margin for error and caution was warranted.