(CNN) The word has gone out.

On every television channel, on the front page of every newspaper, Chinese President Xi Jinping, in addition to his many other impressive titles, is now officially referred to as "the core of the Chinese Communist party."

It sounds like just another title but it is highly symbolic in China.

It was originally granted to Chairman Mao Zedong and since then to two of his successors as leader -- Deng Xiaoping, the man who remodeled China's economy, and President Jiang Zemin.

Tellingly, it was not bestowed on Xi's immediate predecessor, Hu Jintao.

Zhang Baohui, professor of political science at Hong Kong's Lingnan University, says the message is clear. "Hu Jintao was the first among equals and it was clear collective decision making. Xi Jinping is no longer the first among equals. He is clearly the leader," he told CNN.

The report surprised few but sent a very strong signal -- it comes after the annual confab known the 6th plenum of the 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, which wrapped up four days of closed door meetings in Beijing.

'You can get policies done'

When you are "the core" of the Communist Party, you aren't just another leader -- your will is now law.

"The whole thing about being 'the core' is that you can get policies done," David Zweig, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology professor, told CNN.

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"The risk is that you will take power to yourself, undermine the power bases of the people beneath you. Give him greater authority to replace people who are allied with Jiang Zemin or their own networks."

Zweig said there had already been a push to make Xi "the core" in early 2016 but it hadn't succeeded.

"Everyone in the Politburo has their networks, even in the Standing Committee of the Politburo, so if you give all the power to one guy you give him the power to push your people out and push his people through," he said.

"Entrenched resistance was strong but if you really want to see China reform, you want to take some power away (from those) who protect their vested interests, like the state enterprises."

Anti-corruption drive or power grab?

Xi has been amassing titles since he took over as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in 2012.

He has used that authority to push through an intensive anti-corruption drive -- targeting even the very highest levels of the party and the army. The campaign has been very popular with the Chinese public, but it has worried some elites.

Photos: China's corruption crackdown nets more victims A Chinese court in the northern city of Tianjin sentenced a former vice minister of public security to 15 years in prison for corruption, state media reported Tuesday, January 12. Li Dongsheng, 60, was charged with taking almost 22 million yuan ($3.3 million) in bribes from 2007 to 2013. He was a protégé of disgraced former domestic security czar Zhou Yongkang, who was sentenced to life in prison in June 2015 for corruption offenses. Hide Caption 1 of 9 Photos: China's corruption crackdown nets more victims Jiang Jiemin, who once headed China's biggest oil company, was handed a 16-year jail term for bribery, abuse of power and possessing assets from unidentified sources on October 12, 2015. Hide Caption 2 of 9 Photos: China's corruption crackdown nets more victims Li Chuncheng, a former high-ranking official in Sichuan province, was sentenced to 13 years in jail for bribery and abuse of power. Both Li and Jiang were reported to have close ties to Zhou Yongkang, the highest-ranking Chinese official to fall foul of President Xi Jinping's corruption campaign so far. Hide Caption 3 of 9 Photos: China's corruption crackdown nets more victims Communist Party investigators have accused Ling Jihua, 58, once a top aide to former President Hu Jintao, of accepting huge bribes, stealing party and state secrets, as well as keeping mistresses and trading power for sex. Hide Caption 4 of 9 Photos: China's corruption crackdown nets more victims China sacked one of its top sporting officials on July 16 because he's under investigation over allegations of corruption. Xiao Tian has been removed from his post as the deputy director of the General Administration of Sport (GAS). He's also a vice chairman of China's national Olympic committee, and was often its public face. Hide Caption 5 of 9 Photos: China's corruption crackdown nets more victims Xu Caihou was the most senior military figure caught up in the corruption dragnet. However, the former People's Liberation Army general didn't face prosecution because of ill health and died of bladder cancer in March 2015. His rank was revoked after an investigation found he took bribes to facilitate promotions. Local media reports said the general had so much cash stashed away at his home that it took a week to count, and 12 trucks to haul it away. Hide Caption 6 of 9 Photos: China's corruption crackdown nets more victims Liu Han , a mining tycoon found guilty of murder and running a "mafia-style" organization, wasn't strictly a corrupt official but his conviction shed light on his links to a top target of Xi's anti-corruption campaign -- Zhou Yongkang. Hide Caption 7 of 9 Photos: China's corruption crackdown nets more victims A former member of China's all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee, Zhou Yongkang is now serving a life sentence for corruption and other crimes. He was tried in secret in May 2015 and sentenced to life in prison in June. He's the highest ranking official to fall victim to Xi's graft crackdown. Hide Caption 8 of 9 Photos: China's corruption crackdown nets more victims Once a rising star of the Chinese Communist Party, Bo Xilai fell from power in an explosive scandal involving murder, betrayal and financial skullduggery. Bo pleaded not guilty and challenged the prosecution's case in a rare public trial. He was jailed for taking bribes, embezzlement and abuse of power. His career unraveled after his wife, Gu Kailai, poisoned a British businessman, and his right-hand man, Wang Lijun, fled to the U.S. consulate in Chengdu. Hide Caption 9 of 9

Too much power in one set of hands would endanger the sort of consensus building politics that had been developing in previous administrations.

Xi supporters justify the move saying the party would collapse unless corruption can be cleared up. They also believe strong leadership is needed to push through market reforms, resisted by special interest groups in the state-enterprise dominated economy.

Others are more cynical, claiming Xi is merely trying to strengthen the party's grip on power, while adding that it is this one party rule that is the root of corruption and other social issues in China.

Xi's real test still to come

Photos: China celebrates World War II victory Photos: China celebrates World War II victory Chinese military helicopters fly in formation over Tiananmen Square on September 3, 2015 in Beijing, China. A massive military parade in Tiananmen Square marked the 70th anniversary of victory over Japan and the end of World War II. Hide Caption 1 of 19 Photos: China celebrates World War II victory A military vehicle carrying a Pterodactyl I drone rolled through Beijing on September 3. Hide Caption 2 of 19 Photos: China celebrates World War II victory Military vehicles carry missiles past the Tiananmen Gate on September 3. Hide Caption 3 of 19 Photos: China celebrates World War II victory Chinese President Xi Jinping stands in a sedan to address the People's Liberation Army on September 3. Hide Caption 4 of 19 Photos: China celebrates World War II victory Thousands of doves are released during the parade on September 3. Hide Caption 5 of 19 Photos: China celebrates World War II victory Tanks promenade through the parade route on September 3. Hide Caption 6 of 19 Photos: China celebrates World War II victory Chinese veterans wave from a bus during the military parade on September 3. Hide Caption 7 of 19 Photos: China celebrates World War II victory Chinese military helicopters fly in formation during the grand parade on September 3. Hide Caption 8 of 19 Photos: China celebrates World War II victory Missiles are displayed along the parade route on September 3. Hide Caption 9 of 19 Photos: China celebrates World War II victory Chinese soldiers march past the Great Hall of the People at Tiananmen Square on September 3, 2015 in Beijing, China. Hide Caption 10 of 19 Photos: China celebrates World War II victory Chinese President Xi Jinping, in the middle, stands with (from left) South Korean President Park Geun-hye, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and former Chinese presidents Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao. Hide Caption 11 of 19 Photos: China celebrates World War II victory Chinese soldiers march past the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square on September 3 in Beijing, China. Hide Caption 12 of 19 Photos: China celebrates World War II victory Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, stands with former Chinese Presidents Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao and current Premier Li Keqiang at the military parade in Beijing on September 3. Hide Caption 13 of 19 Photos: China celebrates World War II victory People's Liberation Army troops arrive at Tiananmen Gate in formation for the parade on September 3. Hide Caption 14 of 19 Photos: China celebrates World War II victory Chinese soldiers march past Tiananmen Square on September 3. Hide Caption 15 of 19 Photos: China celebrates World War II victory A Chinese military choir stands in position ahead of a military parade at Tiananmen Square in Beijing on September 3. Hide Caption 16 of 19 Photos: China celebrates World War II victory Chinese soldiers conduct last-minute drills ahead of the military parade in Beijing's Tiananmen Square on September 3. Hide Caption 17 of 19 Photos: China celebrates World War II victory Decorated with medals, 85-year-old Shen Ji-lan prepares for the military parade in Beijing. She is the only person in China to be appointed twelve consecutive times as a member of the National People's Congress, China's legislature, according to local media. Hide Caption 18 of 19 Photos: China celebrates World War II victory A paramilitary policeman stands at attention in Tiananmen Square in Beijing on September 2, 2015. Hide Caption 19 of 19

The announcement shows that for now Xi has consolidated his power, and that those party members who may have been less enthusiastic about the new direction, willingly or unwillingly will have to support him.

In the second half of 2017 the Chinese Communist Party will hold a once every five years National Congress which will result in many personnel changes at the highest level.

Due to unofficial age limits, five of the seven members of the all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee are expected to be replaced.

According to Professor Zhang, that will be the real test for the president.

"The real occasion of whether he is in complete power will the be outcome at the next party congress. Who will be in the Politburo and most importantly who will be in the standing committee of the Politburo? Can he himself shape the composition?" he said.

We can be sure that "the core of the Chinese Communist Party" will be spending much of his time between now and then to ensure that he can.