As Xu Kuangdi retires from official duties, his conscience will certainly be clear.

The president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering is known for his sustained devotion to academic research as a scientist and clean, competent governance during his presidency and his tenure as the mayor of Shanghai.

Xu majored in metallurgy, but became interested in economics after observing that there was no shortage of life's essentials in Britain, where he was studying in the early 1980s.

Xu decided to study economics, and was soon convinced that China's nascent economic reform could get a much-needed fillip by incorporating principles of a market economy.

As director of the Shanghai Economic Planning Commission, Xu did a fine job to usher in economic reform to Shanghai. He was made mayor of the city in 1995.

What made Xu popular was not just his honest and down-to-earth work ethic, but his admonition to family members to desist from seeking him out for official favors.

He was widely regarded as a clean and competent mayor, and when he left the city in 2001, more than a thousand local government officials and Shanghai residents went to the airport to see him off.

Very few local government leaders have left with their reputations intact as Xu managed to do.

Xu was very clear about what was needed to be done - for Shanghai's citizens and its economy - and that explains why many in the city still miss him.

His exemplary service should, hopefully, serve as a mirror to reflect upon for many others in today's power echelons.

(China Daily 06/08/2010 page8)