The Chinese government’s annual policy blueprint runs more than 18,000 Chinese characters. Only a fraction of them are necessary to grasp this year’s theme: a dramatic emphasis on the Communist Party, in particular its leader.

China’s Premier Li Keqiang, as usual, delivered the government’s work report on Sunday in a nearly 100-minute speech to the legislature. Unusually, the document’s normal heavy doses of economic policy prescriptions came leavened with numerous mentions of the party and President Xi Jinping.

A China Real Time word search found 30 references to the “party” -- more than in any year since the launch of reforms under Deng Xiaoping in 1979. Mr. Xi, who is also the party’s leader, was name-checked eight times, more than any serving leader since Mao Zedong racked up 17 work-report mentions in 1975.

The more overtly political nature of this year’s work report seems a given. The Communist Party faces a major leadership shuffle this fall, and Mr. Xi has been engaged in political maneuvering to ensure that his allies rise to positions of power while also trying to stifle internal opposition to him and his policies.

To party members, and perhaps politically minded Chinese, the pickup in mentions of Mr. Xi serves as a pointed signal. “It's telegraphing to the rank-and-file and officialdom at lower levels that resistance may feel good but it's also pretty futile,” said Russell Leigh Moses, a China-based political analyst.