Meaning: bold and resolute; drastic

Original: 1973年，他恢复工作。1975年，他开始主持党、国家、军队日常工作，为扭转“文化大革命”造成的严重混乱局面，大刀阔斧开展全面整顿，针锋相对同“四人帮”进行斗争。

Background: August 22nd marked the 120th anniversary of the birth of Deng Xiaoping. To commemorate the day, Xi Jinping gave a speech on Deng’s contributions to the Party and China, emphasizing the sweeping reforms made during his tenure, as well as reframing the story of Deng into the current narrative of China’s development.

Usage: 大刀阔斧 is a chengyu that is used to emphasize a massive change, or activities that require a great deal of energy. It can be used as above, for talking about reforms, but it can also be used to describe the time-consuming process of cultivating a tree.

Source: 在纪念邓小平同志诞辰120周年座谈会上的讲话